


But The Stars Know All My Secrets

by Ashleyparker2815



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Civil War (Marvel), Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Secret Identity, Sleepovers, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is a Good Mentor, later on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2020-10-13 16:09:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 66,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20585282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashleyparker2815/pseuds/Ashleyparker2815
Summary: Tony Stark finds out that Spider-Man is a fourteen year old kid named Peter Parker but instead of going to his apartment, Tony secretly fakes an acceptance to an internship for Peter to come and work in his lab with him. The only thing is, Peter doesn’t know that Tony knows he is Spider-Man so Peter thinks he must keep it a secret.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea one night when I was trying to fall asleep and I was like ahhh I need to write that so here I am:) 
> 
> I suck at summaries so obviously more will be explained during the fic but I’ll try and quickly explain better here: 
> 
> So Tony finds out who Spider-Man is but he doesn’t go to his apartment and take him to Germany, he knows the kid is smart so he brings Peter into his lab on a fake internship so Peter can work with him but Peter thinks that Tony doesn’t know his big secret so he does everything he can so Tony doesn’t find out and Tony just wants Peter to trust him enough to tell him himself. 
> 
> I’m so excited to write this and I hope you guys like it:))

“So you’re telling me that this Spider-Ling is a child?” Tony asked FRIDAY. He had been working in his lab for the past two days and by working he means obsessing over this man dressed in a red and blue onesie running around Queens and stopping crime, and by man he now means kid. A child. A fourteen year old child. 

“Yess, Boss” FRIDAY clarified “Peter Parker. Age fourteen” 

Tony had been staring at the screens in his lab for the past twenty minutes. He still couldn’t believe what he was looking at. 

He would have thought that it was some kind of mistake in the computer but his computer doesn’t make mistakes so it was true. The person running around in the red and blue onesie was in fact a child. 

In hindsight, Tony shouldn’t really be that surprised. Looking at the small body built of the man, or child, in the onesie is enough to see that the person under the mask isn’t that old. 

Still, Tony thought that he was dealing with at least someone who was in their early to mid twenties. Not a fourteen year old boy. 

This caused Tony to be all the more invested in looking up information on a certain Spider-Child that recently started high school. Peter Parker was fresh into grade 9 and Tony didn’t even know if he knew how to deal with a child that young. Everyone he’s ever worked with or associated with was over the age of at least twenty-five. 

Everyone who worked for him in Stark Tower or at the compound was over the age of thirty. The youngest person that was working for him at the moment was a twenty-six year old Oxford student who was studying biochemistry at the compound. 

Tony opened up Peter Parker’s school files that he easily hacked. The kid attended a very high up school for science and technology and that impressed Tony. The kid was obviously very smart judging by all his transcripts. 

“FRI, pull up a picture of Mr. Parker” Tony said “Let’s see the face behind the mask” 

FRIDAY pulled up an image of what looked like Peter’s school picture. The kid had chocolate brown curly hair that hung in his eyes a little bit. His smile looked really cheeky and almost contagious and his big brown eyes stared back at him. Tony noticed that Peter’s cheeks still had some baby fat on them and that caused him to look about five years younger. 

“So Spider-Man,” Tony stared back at the picture of Peter that was looking at him “What's your story” 

If there was one thing that Tony couldn’t find on the Internet was how Peter ended up as Spider-Man. He guessed that the kid had some help to build some adhesive gloves that helped him stick and climb to buildings and someone to help manufacture the webbing that he used but nothing explained the super strength that he could tell the kid obviously had. As smart as the kid seemed to be there was just no way that a fourteen year old child could do that by themselves. And if they could then Tony had to meet them and that them was Peter. 

This is why Tony was putting together a fake acceptance into an internship for the Stark internship for young minds. It was the best and first thing he could come up with. 

There obviously was no such thing because Tony didn’t like to have young people running around his lab and touch everything but Peter was different, he just knew it. 

“FRI, I need you to Uh” Tony thought for a moment. He needed something believable “I need you to put together an acceptance letter and send it to Mr. Parker” 

Tony thought for a second “Actually, on second thought, send it to his school and in the acceptance letter I want you to say that Mr. Parker has the highest grades in his science and technology class and that the Stark internship is looking for bright young minds like him” 

Tony had no idea what he was saying. He was just kinda rolling with it. He had no idea if it would actually be believable but he found out that no one really liked to question what he did so he was hoping the kid wouldn’t either. 

“Are you planning on having young Peter work in your lab with you?” FRIDAY asked and Tony paused to think about it. 

He would like to meet the kid first but if he was actually as smart as Tony thought he was then he would definitely be coming into the lab to work with him. 

“Yeah, eventually. Let’s just send this out to his school first” Tony leaned back against the chair “I want this at his school first thing tomorrow morning” 

“Yes, Boss. I’m looking forward to meeting him” 

“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, FRI. Let’s just see how this goes first” Tony would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to meet the kid as well. 

He had been watching, well, basically stocking the kid for the past two weeks when he first started hearing about this new and secret vigilante running around the city. He had no idea that the person he was watching was actually a kid so this was going to be a very interesting next couple of days.

Tony knew he had to get in contact with Peter Parker somehow but he didn’t want anything to seem too suspicious. He thought about actually going to his apartment, because yes he did know where the kid lived but he thought better if it. 

He didn’t want to go to his house and corner the child and say ‘Hey I know your secret, Spider-Man. Now come work with me in my lab’ no, he didn’t want to do that. He wanted Peter to feel comfortable with him first and tell him when he’s ready. 

So Tony just had to be patient. He had to let everything happen the way it’s supposed to and not rush everything at once like he knows he always does. 

He just had to wait. 

.  
.  
.

Peter’s Tuesday morning had been off to a bad start at first. 

He woke up late so he didn’t even have any time to eat breakfast before he was rushing out the door. Even after running to the bus stop he still missed his bus just by a minute so now he had to wait fifteen minutes until the next one came. 

Only it didn’t come fifteen minutes later it was late meaning that Peter was even later for school. 

By the time the bus did come and Peter got to school, it was halfway through his first period class and the teacher had to pause the lesson to give Peter trouble for being late. 

“Oh, how nice of you to join us today, Peter” His teacher said rudely “Please take a seat” 

Peter was about to go sit at the back of the class where he usually sits but he was stopped before he got there “Not there. Please come take a seat here at the front” 

Peter had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes and letting out a sound of annoyance as he made his way to the front and sat himself down in his new seat at the front. 

He hated sitting at the very front because he always felt like everyone was talking about him and that they were making fun of him. So he hated it but it was just for one class so he would deal with it. Hopefully. 

The teacher began teaching his lesson again and Peter zoned out. He was thinking about what he would do after school and all the crime fighting that he was gonna be able to do. 

Before Peter knew it, the class was over- well he thought it was over but it was just his teacher calling his name. 

“Peter? Peter? The office called you down” His teacher said and Peter sat up straight in his seat. 

He hadn’t done anything wrong, had he? 

Why was the office calling him down? Maybe he was in trouble or maybe something happened to Aunt May-

Peter was out of his chair and quickly making his way down the stairs and walking the long hallway down to the front office so he could see why he was getting called down. 

He felt his heart beating really fast and his hands were getting all sweaty. 

Before he knew it he was opening the front door to the office and walking over to the old lady receptionist at the front desk “H-hey, I’m Uh, I’m Peter Parker and I was called down” 

She looked up at him and Peter felt a shiver run down his spine. She looked at him like he had personality kicked her puppy and ran off laughing. 

After she stared at him for a couple seconds she spoke “Peter Parker, the principal wants to speak with you” 

She pointed to the door across the office and Peter felt like he had never been more scared in his life. He hadn’t done anything wrong and if the principal wants to talk to you then that can only mean one thing and that thing wasn’t something good. 

“O-okay” Peter stepped aside the front desk and walked on shaky legs over to the principals office. He knocked on the door but before he could even lower his hand the door was being opened. 

“Ah, Mr. Parker” His principal said happily “Just the person I’m looking for” 

Peter didn’t say anything as he stepped inside and sat on one of the chairs across from his principals desk that he was gesturing Peter to sit in. 

The room was way too hot for Peter’s liking but he just guessed that was because he was extremely nervous and scared. 

“So, Peter,” His principal began and Peter started playing with his hands in his lap “don’t look so scared you aren’t in trouble” 

Peter relaxed a bit but now he was just embarrassed. He was wanted the man to speak already! 

“I’m not Uh, scared” Nice job on his voice betraying him “What um, why did you call me d-down here?”

His principal started looking for something on his desk as he spoke “Well, Peter, the school that you attend has a very high average with a lot of gifted children that attend here so it isn’t rare for me to get emails from certain schools and internships that want particular kids to attend those however what is very rare if not impossible, is for me to get an email from Stark industries saying that they want Peter Parker to start an internship there with Tony Stark” 

Peter’s eyes widened so big that he’s surprised his eyes didn’t fall out of his skull. He felt his heart immediately drop when he heard that The Tony Stark wanted him, Peter Parker to intern for him. There was no way! 

And there was no way because of the Parker Luck. 

“There’s-there’s no way uh, that-that is even possible I mean” Peter trailed off “I mean Tony Stark doesn’t even have internships available for kids my age, you have to be at least twenty-five to even apply and I’m not even fifteen yet so-so there’s no way. There must be some mistake” Peter stuttered out. 

His teacher grabbed a white envelope on his desk and handed it over to Peter who grabbed it immediately. Peter studied it as his principal spoke “I thought the same thing at first, you see as I said before, a lot of students here have gotten into other schools and internships that lead to jobs after but no student had ever gotten an internship from Tony Stark himself, it’s impossible. Or at least it was before you. So congratulations Mr. Parker, you have an internship with Tony Stark” 

Peter couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He wouldn’t believe it. He didn’t even realize he had been staring at the envelope with a huge smile on his face and he tried to stop but he couldn’t. He just didn’t want to get his hopes up. He refused to because it can’t be real. There had to be some kind of mistake or something because there is absolutely no way that he would get an internship. 

He didn’t even apply! 

“I didn’t even apply” Peter said. He was so confused and excited at the same time. 

“Well, as a science and technology school we send out our students best and highest marks so Mr. Stark must have caught yours and liked it” The principal explained and Peter couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

He felt like he was in some kind of amazing dream that he created in his head. He was probably still in class and he was just daydreaming because there was absolutely no way that this was actually happening right now. 

Good things don’t happen to Peter Parker. Bad things happen, horrible things. People die on him and leave him in this world to fend for himself. 

So there was just no way that out of all people in this world the one person that he looks up to the most, the one person that has been on his bedroom walls and bed sheets and even has pyjamas of, is the one person that accepts Peter for an internship. Tony Stark. 

Peter was still busy trying to think about everything when his principal started talking to him again “Congratulations, Peter. We are all very proud of you here at midtown. You may go back to class now” 

Peter couldn’t think of anything to say so he stood up without taking his eyes off of the paper in his hands. He didn’t even remember looking up the whole way back to his class and the bell must have rang because when he returned to his first period class there was a bunch of new students in there. 

He walked in and started walking to his desk to get his backpack but his teacher called him to the front “Your stuff is up here, Peter” 

Peter looked at where his teacher and went to grab his stuff then leave his classroom. 

The rest of the day dragged on because Peter was just counting down the hours until he got to go home and tell May all about his day at school and what happened. 

When the final bell rang, he quickly ran to his bus stop and jumped on. 

His legs wouldn’t stop moving the whole bus ride because he was so excited to get home. He’s surprised he wasn’t shaking the whole bus. 

Aunt May was working a night shift tonight meaning that she would be home right now and then she would be gone all night meaning that Peter could go out as Spider-Man for as long as he wants. 

By the time Peter was off his bus and making his way upstairs to his apartment (he couldn’t wait for the elevator because he was too excited) he was practically vibrating with excitement. 

He quickly opened the door and threw his bag on the ground “Aunt May! Look!”

May was in the kitchen cutting up what looked like some type of healthy food but Peter paid no attention to that as he held the paper in her face “I can’t see it when you hold it that close to my face, Peter” 

Peter didn’t even realize what he was doing so he pulled the paper back and let May read it over “What is this?” 

Peter pointed to the part of the paper that said ‘Stark Internship’

“Let me get my glasses and wash my hands” May said as she put down the knife and moved to the sink to wash her hands. After she grabbed her glasses she took the paper out of her nephews hands that he was eagerly waving in her face “Let me see” 

Peter watched with a smile on his face as May read it over. He watched her read it again and try to let it process in her mind “What? Peter, is this what I think it is?” 

Peter nodded his head excitedly “The office called me down in my first period class and I thought I was gonna get in trouble or that something bad happened to you and I was so scared but then I went down there and-and he gave me this paper and at first I was like what no way is this real but my principal said that the school sends out the highest grades or something and that Tony Stark likes mine and now I got an internship with The Tony Stark!”

May was smiling so hard but she didn’t want to get her nephews hopes up. She knew that Tony Stark didn’t take on high school students as young as Peter or even at all. 

Peter had looked up to Tony Stark before he even became Iron Man and then when he announced himself as a hero, Peter just fell all the more in love with the man and looked up to everything he did. He even went as far as to try and recreate the arc rector as a young child but he only got halfway done because he didn’t have any parts. 

She remembers when Ben used to take Peter to the dump to try and find some parts to build things with. 

“Peter! This is amazing, baby, but is it real? I mean I just don’t want you to get your hopes up and it isn’t real” May said concerned. She hated the way Peter’s face fell but it had to be said. 

“Well,” Peter thought for a second “I think it’s real. It has to be, I guess” 

May looked over the paper once more “It looks real it’s just, you’re too young to be getting an internship with Tony Stark especially, I know you’re smart enough but your age plays a huge part and Tony Stark has never been one to be good around children so I just don’t want it to be some kind of mistake, that’s all” 

All the excitement and happiness was starting to come down just a little bit and suddenly Peter felt very stupid and mad that he even let himself get so excited in the first place. Why would he even think that him out of all the older and brilliant minds out there that Mr. Stark would pick him. He was so stupid for getting his hopes up. 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right um, I got homework so I’m just gonna go in my room” Peter grabbed the paper out of May’s hands and put it on the kitchen table then turned to grab his bag off the floor. 

May hated seeing Peter like this. It’s been really hard for him these past few months ever since Ben died almost five months ago. Peter and him were really close, maybe because they were actually blood related or maybe because they were both boys but May always felt that she wasn’t good enough and that she couldn’t provide Peter with everything that he needed. 

She could tell that he’s been struggling a lot lately with school and just life in general. He put a brave face on but she could still see right through him. Although she never said anything, maybe she should but every time she talked about Ben to Peter she would start crying and Peter would shut down. 

It was just really hard and it was getting harder with Peter growing older and not having that male support to help him during his teenage years. Yeah, sure a female could definitely do the job but May felt that she didn’t have all the answers for some of Peter’s questions and it was hard. 

He needed something. He needed this internship. 

“Peter, honey wait” May called to him before he went into his bedroom to disappear for the night “I don’t want you to be sad about this, baby” 

Peter didn’t turn around as he spoke because he didn’t want May to see the tears in his eyes “It’s fine, May. I’m okay” 

May didn’t have to see Peter’s face to see the tears in his eyes, she heard it in his voice. 

As May watched Peter’s bedroom door close, she pulled out her phone and started to dial the number on the paper to call Stark Industries.


	2. If I could

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so just a little explanation: 
> 
> Tony and Pepper aren’t dating. They did date but now they’re on a break so will they get back together idkkk but just right now they aren’t dating

It was Tuesday morning and Tony had gotten an email confirmation saying that the Stark Internship acceptance had been received at Peter Parker’s school.

Now all Tony had to do was wait until either Peter or someone else called for him. The number to Peppers private office was on there because Tony didn’t want anyone else to know about Tony’s plan. 

He just had to remember to go tell Pepper about his plan. He had been having small talk to her and mentioning things about Spider-Man here and there but he never told her the full story yet. He didn’t even know the kids full story. 

All Tony knew was that the kid was extremely smart and that he was Spider-Man. He may have dug deeper into his files and found out that he lives with his Aunt in Queens and only his Aunt. He knew that the kids parents had died in a plane crash when he was only two but Tony couldn’t really find any other files on his parents for some reason. He knew that his Uncle had been shot only a few months ago so Tony honestly had no idea what to expect from the kid. 

He didn’t know if Peter was gonna be a troubled child and really hard to deal with. Learning all those facts about him was really hard because the kid was barely a teenager and he already lost so many people in his life and been through so much. 

So Tony was a bit concerned on meeting the kid. 

.  
.  
.

“So does that computer also connect to mine in my office?” Tony asked Pepper as he spun on the chair in her office. 

Pepper looked at Tony annoyed and crossed her arms “Maybe if you actually did work in your office you would know that” 

Tony ignored what she said and asked another question “So why when I emailed you before you never responded?” 

Pepper ignored Tony this time and spoke “Tony, I’m really busy, why are you here?”

Tony had left his lab to come upstairs and talk to Pepper about his whole plan and what he did because hopefully pretty soon she was gonna be getting a call from the kids Aunt most likely asking about the paper that Peter got from school today. 

“I just wanted to see how you are” Tony lied. For some reason he found it really hard to bring it up. 

Pepper sighed and uncrossed her arms “I’m really busy if you haven’t noticed-“

“I found out who Spider-Man is” Tony interrupted Pepper to say. 

“Excuse me? You what-“

“I found out who Spider-Man is” Tony said again at Peppers confused look “He’s a kid. His name is Peter Parker” 

Pepper didn’t say anything for a few seconds as she let it all process “Spider-Man is a kid? How old is he?” 

“He’s fourteen. He just started high school” 

At Tony’s answer, Peppers eyes widened and she leaned closer to Tony “So the... guy, kid, that you have been obsessing over for the past two weeks and trying to figure out who it is, is actually a fourteen year old boy?” 

Tony nodded his head so Pepper continued “How is that even possible, I mean he’s a child and he’s jumping around the city?” 

“Yeah, I know. I wanted to learn more about him but I couldn’t really find anything of importance and to answer all my questions so I may have done something and I need your help” Tony paused because Pepper was giving him a weird look “I sent an acceptance letter to his school saying that he has an internship for Stark industries and he’s Aunt is probably gonna call any minute to ask a bunch of questions and I need you to answer the phone” 

Pepper looked at Tony while he was talking like he had two heads. She shook her head as she spoke “Slow down. Why did you fake a Stark Internship and send it to the child’s school, Tony, you know we don’t have kids that age coming into the tower” 

“I know that, Pepper, but how else was a supposed to get the kid to come here” Tony said desperately “I’m not gonna tell him I know he’s Spider-Man. He’s a really smart kid, Pep, and he’s already been through so much” 

Tony paused and then continued “I’m just gonna meet him and see how he is. Plus the kid is Spider-Man for fucks sake, if anyone should check up on him it should be me” 

Pepper sighed and turned in her chair so that her back was facing Tony “I don’t think you know what you’ve gotten yourself into, Tony. This is a child we’re talking about here, have you ever even been around one? Do you even know how to be around one? For starters you can’t swear-“

Tony interrupted her again “I don’t think you understand that he’s fourteen, not four” 

“Stop interrupting me. You know I hate that plus it doesn’t matter how old he is. He’s still a kid and they’re impressionable so he’s gonna end up picking up on your bad habits if you don’t be careful” Pepper said then she turned back in her chair and looked at Tony “And what if you meet him and decide that it’s gonna be too much work to have him as your intern or you just don’t wanna do it anymore? Huh, are you just gonna say bye and leave him like that? You didn’t think this through, Tony, and now you left me to pick up all the pieces” 

Tony could tell Pepper was angry but he was now too “I did think this through! The kid needs someone looking out for him and I will do that without him knowing that I actually know his secret” 

Pepper didn’t say anything and Tony could tell she was really mad at him. He continued talking “Pep, I did think this through, I know what I got myself into and all I need you to do is answer the phone when his Aunt calls and tell her that I selected Peter to come and intern here” 

Pepper didn’t say anything for a few seconds but then she nodded and sighed “Okay, Tony. I trust you can do this” 

Tony nodded. Pepper added “But why is his Aunt calling?” 

“Because his parents died when he was two and his Uncle died about five months ago” Tony said casually because he was used to death and although it was sad that someone so young had to deal with all that, there wasn’t anything he could do about it now except to be there for the kid. 

Pepper on the other hand looked sad “Tony, are you serious right now-“

“I’m not joking, Pep. It’s true” 

Peppers face fell “So this child lives with his Aunt and only his Aunt?” 

“From what I know, yeah” 

Pepper sighed “Alright. I’ll wait for her call and I’ll let you know when she does” 

“Thanks, Pep. I appreciate you” Tony said as he stood up and walked out of her office to go back down to the lab.

.  
.  
.

May picked up the phone and piece of paper and then went into her bedroom and shut the door before dialing the number on it. 

If this was actually a real internship and not some fake one then the number should go through. There could still be the possibility that there was a mix up and it may be another Peter Parker at his school or another school. 

The phone picked up on the fourth ring “Pepper Potts speaking, how may I help you?” 

May almost had a heart attack right there. She was talking to Pepper Potts. 

Peter may have been a huge fan of Tony Stark but May had a secret girl crush on Pepper Potts for being such a strong, independent woman. 

“Oh um, my name is May Parker and my nephew, Peter Parker came home with um, an acceptance into an internship for Stark Industries” May explained. She was honestly just talking and hoping that Pepper picked up on what she was trying to say. 

“Oh, yes” Pepper said happily “Ms. Parker, we have been waiting for your call. Your nephew has a brilliant mind and here at Stark Industries we are always on the lookout for young minds like his, Mr. Stark has taking a liking to Mr. Parker’s intelligence and would like to offer him an internship here” 

May listened to everything that Pepper was saying and it was hard because she was still trying to believe who she was talking to but also because it was real. Peter had an internship with Tony Stark! 

There was just one thing that confused her “That’s amazing but the only thing is is that Peter's only fourteen and I know that Tony Stark doesn’t offer internships for anyone under twenty-five” 

Pepper was patient as she spoke “That is true however in Peter’s case it is very different because Tony was opening up a new program for young minds such as Peter and he was the one that made the cut so congratulations” 

Now May could be happy about it! She was still a bit sceptical because none of what Pepper was talking about seemed to be true because it was one of those too good to be true things but it actually was happening. 

“Oh that’s amazing! Peter’s gonna be so happy. I told him it might be fake because it just seemed a little unreal and he was really upset by that and started crying but he’s gonna be so happy to hear this! I can’t wait to tell him” May said excitedly. She realized that she probably shared too much information but she tended to overshare when she was excited. 

She guesses that Peter probably got that from her. 

Pepper cooed sadly “Aww well it is one hundred percent real and you should really tell him soon so he feels better. There’s just some things I would like to tell you before I let you go,” 

Pepper paused for a few seconds before speaking “Tony would like to meet Peter tomorrow if that’s possible. He can have his driver, Happy, pick Peter up in the morning if that’s okay he’s gonna have to miss a day of school just so that he has time for everything” 

“Oh I don’t think Peter would want to miss any school” May said. She would have to ask him but she already knew that Peter didn’t like missing any school. 

“It’ll only be for one day, don’t worry, Tony understands that Peter is in school so the internship won’t interrupt his school time” Pepper explained. 

May had to think about that. She knows that Peter hated missing school because he was too hard on himself when it came to getting good grades and May appreciated that but balance was good when it came to pushing yourself too hard and taking breaks and Peter could definitely use a break. 

“Alright” May said “If it’s only for one day then that won’t be a problem” 

Pepper continued talking “So then Happy can pick Peter up at your house at eight in the morning tomorrow? Does that work for Peter?”

May was about to ask Peter but she knew that he would be more than okay with it.

“Yeah, it’s perfect. He’ll be so happy when I tell him, thank you so much, Ms. Potts” May thanked Pepper, she was so excited to go and tell Peter the good news. 

“No need to thank me, Ms. Parker” Pepper spoke softly “I can’t wait to meet him” 

May was a bit curious as to who Peter would be seeing tomorrow. It would be a lot for him to finally meet his childhood hero who still is his hero, Tony Stark, but to also meet Pepper Potts and go to his tower. May was just a bit worried that Peter would get overwhelmed. 

She was also a bit worried about Peter being alone with Tony by himself because she knew of Tony Stark but she didn’t personally know the man so she didn’t want to send her fourteen year old nephew to some random guys Tower, the same way she wouldn’t send Peter over to the old guys apartment across the hall. She saids a quick hi and bye to the man but she doesn’t know what he’s capable of and the same thing goes with Tony Stark, although May would never think that low of the man but she would prefer it if Peter was gonna be with a few people at once. At least until he gets to know Tony Stark more. 

“Just out of curiously, who will Peter be seeing tomorrow? I just don’t want him to get too overwhelmed all at once” May paused “He’s looked up to Tony Stark before he even became Iron Man so tomorrow is gonna be a big day for him” 

“Oh, Peter’s been a fan then for awhile?” Pepper asked and May could tell she was smiling by her voice “I’ll be sure to tell Tony that. As for who Peter will be meeting tomorrow, it will be Tony’s bodyguard as well as his driver, Happy, who will be picking Peter up and Tony and I” 

“Alright. I’ll go tell him the good news, thank you so much” May then ended the call and made her way to Peter’s bedroom to speak to him. 

She knocked on the door lightly but didn’t hear an answer so she tried again “Peter, honey? Can I come in?”

After a few seconds of silence there was a small voice “Um, y-yeah” 

May pushed open the door and saw Peter sitting at his desk with his back turned to the door and his books unopened. 

“How’s the homework coming along?” May took a seat on his bed and waited for him to answer but Peter didn’t even look at her. 

“Um, it’s-its good...” Peter choked out. His voice cracked and May knew that that meant that he was trying to hold in his tears. 

“I have some good news for you” May tried to say excitedly but seeing Peter like this broke her heart. 

Peter didn’t look at May but he did sit up straighter so May continued “I called the number on the paper just to see if it was actually legit and guess who I talked to?” 

This grabbed Peter’s attention. He looked over at May with red rimmed eyes “W-who?”

“Pepper Potts” 

Peter’s eyes widened so big that it was hard to believe that he was crying just seconds ago. “Really?! Are you serious?”

May nodded excitedly “Yep. I talked to her and she said that Tony Stark started a new program for young minds like yourself and you made the cut. You were the only one who made the cut. So you’ll be going to meet him tomorrow” 

Peter jumped out of chair excitedly “What! Oh my gosh! May, what! I’m gonna meet Tony Stark tomorrow? Tomorrow? Are you serious? Please tell me you aren’t joking, May?” 

May stood up as well and grabbed Peter by the arms to bring him in for a hug. “No, Peter. I’m not joking. I would never joke about that, baby” 

May pulled away from the hug and she could practically feel Peter shaking with happiness. He ran his fingers through his hair and smiled “May, I can’t believe this. I just-I, this doesn’t seem real” 

“Well, believe it, honey, because it’s real” May brought Peter in for one more hug before she explained to him “Pepper said that Tony’s bodyguard will be picking you up here at eight in the morning tomorrow. So get a goods night sleep” 

Peter’s eyes widened even more “What! Here? But-But what about school?”

“It’s okay if you miss one day, Peter” May reassured him “Pepper confirmed that this internship won’t cause you to miss any days so it’s just this once” 

Peter relaxed a bit at that but then he thought about meeting The Tony Stark tomorrow and he was shaking again with excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so the part where I talk about May not wanting Peter to be alone with Tony at first is not foreshadowing anything to do with Tony doing anything bad to Peter at all in any way. The reason why I wrote that was because I wanted to show that May is really protective over Peter and doesn’t fully trust Tony with her nephew just yet because yeah Peter is a fourteen year old kid going into a random mans house basically and you never know what evil ppl can be capable of, again I’m not saying Tony would ever EVER do anything to hurt Peter because nooo he wouldn’t but it’s just... idk what I’m trying to explain but I hope you get it. 
> 
> May is protective over Peter and she doesn’t quite trust Tony yet so yes if I was a mom or in Mays case I would definitely want to meet the guy first I don’t care if he’s famous or not but in this case we trust Tony. 
> 
> Again, Tony would never hurt Peter and isn’t going to so don’t think that I tried not to give it that vibe but just in case you guys are wondering:)


	3. Settle down, here we are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii guys:) 
> 
> I’m trying to get this chapter up on time but I just wanted to say thank you to my beta reader Jenniilex3 
> 
> She is soooo amazing and edited this chapter for me and is gonna help me edit the other chapters and I just wanna say a huge thank you to her for that!! 
> 
> She is also a really amazing person and just so patient (she knows what I’m talking about) and sooo kind and helpful so thank uuuu so much I really appreciate you!!! 
> 
> I can’t wait for many more conversations with you:) thank uuu

Tony had been in his private lab for almost eight hours after he told Pepper his plan. Thankfully she had agreed to help him out with it.

His thoughts had been racing so much that he found it hard to concentrate enough to work on one of his current projects. 

It wasn't often that he felt nervous or even scared for something, but for some odd reason, he was anxious about meeting a fourteen-year-old kid. Maybe it was because the kid was young and impressionable like Pepper had said.

He wouldn't admit it, but everything she'd told him was quite scary to think about. Peter was a child he was bringing into his tower, meaning that he had to be responsible for his life. Tony wasn't so sure he was ready for that.

He tried to think back to when he was a fourteen-year-old child himself, but he couldn't compare himself to Peter.

At fourteen, Tony still had his parents although they weren't always there. At least during that age, Tony's mother and father were still alive, so his situation was different. He didn't lose his parents until he was twenty-one when he was already old enough to take care of himself or well barely take care of himself. Still, he was a different kid at fourteen than Peter would be so that wouldn't help.

Tony would just have to wait until he meets Peter to see where to go from there.

That was if Peter truly wanted to come to the tower and intern here. The whole time Tony had just assumed Peter would want to be at the tower, and that he would be more than happy to come over but he could be completely wrong.

Peter could probably hate him and not want to come to Stark Industries, let alone even desire an internship here.

Just as Tony was about to make himself go crazy with his thoughts by overthinking, Pepper walked into the lab with a click of her heels. "So, Peter's Aunt called."

That got Tony's attention, so he took a deep calming breath and turned towards Pepper. "So...?"

"She's a lovely woman and you can tell she cares a lot about her nephew," Pepper started, "She asked me if this internship was legit because Peter came home with the paper all excited, but then May told him that it probably wasn't real so he got all sad and started crying supposedly. Anyways, May gave me a call, and I told her that the internship was real, and she was so happy for Peter. It was so nice to hear. She asked a few questions, and I told her that Happy would be picking him up tomorrow at eight in the morning to bring him here."

Pepper paused because she was too busy looking at the smile on Tony's face that he was trying to hide.  
"Oh, and he's also a huge fan of yours and has supposedly looked up to you since he was young."

Now Tony wasn't trying to hide his smile. He must have realized what he was doing so Tony turned in his chair and pretended to be busy with something on his desk before responding, "So he seems like a good kid then? Like he isn't going to come and break anything?"

"I don't think he'd break anything on purpose but maybe by accident," Pepper laughed. 

"Alright then," Tony clapped his hands together and stood up, "looks like I'm gonna be busy tomorrow so no meetings then."

Pepper sighed. Tony was always trying to get out of all these meetings, and it was frustrating. "Don't you be using this kid to get out of meetings you don't want to go to, Tony."

Tony held his hands up in surrender. "Hey! Who says I was doing that?"

Pepper sighed again and just looked at Tony. "I'm gonna go back to work but remember he's gonna be here at nine. Not nine-thirty, not ten. Nine. On the dot and I don't want you to be late."

"Yes, Pep. I got it nine on the dot. I'll be there," Tony promised. This was one appointment that he actually didn't want to be late for.

Pepper glanced at Tony one last time with one of her 'you better behave' looks that sort of scared Tony when he was lying. He watched her leave his lab and go into the elevator.

Once she was gone, he broke out into a wider smile.

He was worried for no reason because the Spider-ling seemed really nice and appeared to be a genuinely good kid, which Tony was thankful for. If the kid was a complete brat, then he wouldn't know what to do. But considering that the kid is Spider-Man and that he dedicated dedicated his free time towards helping people, then he couldn't be bad.

Tony was extremely grateful that Peter even wanted to come and visit him. On top of that, hearing how excited the kid was to have gotten the paper made Tony want to meet the kid already.

.  
.  
.

"Peter, you have to eat before you leave," May called out to Peter, who was busy getting dressed in his bedroom.

"Can't, May! No time!" Peter barely even slept last night because he was so excited for today but now that he was going to be meeting the person that he'd looked up to ever since he was a child. Peter was beginning to feel more nervous than excited.

He was still excited, but also nervous because he was always anxious around new people. And when that new person was Tony Stark that was bound to cause Peter to embarrass himself one way or another.

Peter pulled down his pyjama pants and tugged on his underwear and jeans before going out to the kitchen to say bye to May.

Tony Stark's personal driver and bodyguard was going to be picking him up, so even if he had time to eat he wasn't sure if he could because he didn't want to get sick on the way. He was too excited!

Peter didn't remember a time before this where he had felt this excited over anything.

"Peter, come back here," May called out again for what seemed like the 100th time. She could never seem to get her kid to sit still for more than ten seconds.

"No time, May, I'm pretty sure Mr. Hogan is here, and I don't want to make him wait for me," Peter said as he struggled to get his shoes on. Once he finally got them on, he was about to leave, but May gave him one her looks that made him stop what he was doing and listen to her immediately.

"Peter. Please come here," May spoke with a firm tone, so Peter listened and walked over to where she was standing by the kitchen counter.

"Yeah...?"

"I just want you to be safe," May began and put her hands on his shoulders, "I don't want you to get over-excited and do something dangerous. Pay attention to your surroundings and if you don't feel comfortable and want me to come to get you, then call me."

Peter had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he nodded along, "I promise I'll be safe, Aunt May, don't worry about me."

"I'll always worry about my baby," May pressed a kiss to his cheek and playfully pushed him away, "Be good!"

Peter waved back to her as he left their apartment. He knew that May had always been overprotective of him ever since Uncle Ben died. He didn't know why but May's overprotectiveness had got even worse since then, but he never said anything.

He kind of just went along with it and let her care for him and checked in a lot just because it was nice to have someone that cared for him. But it was hard at times when he wanted to go out as Spider-Man since that meant he always had to lie to her, and Peter hated that but he had no other choice.

It was especially hard when he would get hurt as Spider-Man because then he would try and distance himself from her so that she couldn't see that he was hurt. It was hard, but it worked.

As Peter waited in the elevator to go down to the lobby as he thought about Tony Stark. He wondered if the man saw the news about him swinging around the city. He probably didn't because he was definitely too busy doing his own thing.

It just meant one more person from who he had to keep his secret.

Peter got out of the elevator and pushed the front doors open to head outside. Once he did, he looked around for his ride but then realized that he had no idea who he was looking for.

Peter was just about to lean against the wall and pretend to be busy on his phone when he heard someone call his name.

"Peter? Are you Peter Parker?"

Peter turned around and saw a guy walking slowly towards him. Peter immediately recognized the man and knew who it was.

"You're Happy Hogan!" Peter said excitedly as he crossed the distance between the two. Happy was almost twice the size of him in height and Peter was pretty sure that even with his super strength, the older man could crush him.

Happy raised his eyebrows, "So you're Peter Parker? I really don't want to be picking up a random kid on the street if you're not him."

Peter nodded his head, "Y-yeah. I'm Uhm, I'm Peter. Parker. Peter Parker."

Happy looked at him up and down, and Peter felt a little uncomfortable as he stood there in the man's presence before Happy spoke up, "You look younger in person than you do in the picture Tony showed me."

Happy began walking towards a black expensive-looking car, and Peter had to run a few steps to catch up.  
"Oh, what picture did Mr. Stark show you because it might have been a really old one, you know because I look younger."

Happy ignored him as he opened up the back door of the car. "Get in."

Peter stopped walking and looked towards the back seat and then the front seat, "I'm old enough to sit in the front seat."

Peter looked up at Happy questionably, but the man just rolled his eyes and spoke again this time with impatience written all over his face "Get in."

Peter wasted no time jumping into the car after that. The door was shut very aggressively, and Peter noticed that his hands were shaking a bit, but he didn't know if it was because he was excited or scared now.

Happy was an intimidating man, but Peter guessed that's why he was Tony Stark's personal bodyguard just because that's who would protect Mr. Stark.

Happy got into the car and started it, so Peter quickly scrambled to buckle his seat belt.

"How far is the drive from here to Mr. Stark's house? Does he actually want me to call it his house or just his tower? Like in that one movie! I guess you can't tell me, right? Because if Mr. Stark has a secret house somewhere, he wouldn't want anyone to know. Including me right? Do you know where his secret house is- I mean you probably do since you're his friend-"

Happy cut Peter off and looked at him in the rearview mirror, "How old are you, kid?"

"Oh, I'm fourteen. I just turned fourteen actually, and then I'm going to turn fifteen and then sixteen, and then I can get my license but I don't really know if I want my license because driving doesn't seem that fun," Peter leaned forward in his seat so he could be closer to Happy who was sitting in the front seat but Happy pressed a button that rolled up a window that separated them. The window was up, and Peter was stuck staring at his reflection.

That was kind of rude of Happy, but it didn't look like he wanted to talk to Peter anyway so he didn't really care.

Peter was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was going to be meeting Tony Stark.

Never in his life would he have expected to be actually meeting the man. Peter had spent many years looking up to Tony, and during all those times where he had a horrible day, he would put his Iron Man mask on and cry.

It felt like some dream that he was going to be waking up from and try to go back to sleep. Those dreams you have that are just so perfect in every way that when you wake up, you have a hard time going about your day just because your dream was better than your actual life.

That's basically what it felt like right now, and Peter is scared that he got a concussion as Spider-Man because he really doesn't want to wake up.

The window thay separated Peter from the front seat suddenly rolled down as Happy grumbled in irritation, "What are you doing?"

Happy was looking back at Peter for a few seconds before turning back to the road, and Peter was confused because he wasn't even doing anything.

"I'm not doing anything," Peter said, confused.

"You're- stop shaking your leg. You're causing the whole car to shake. I thought we were having an earthquake," Happy leaned back to look at Peter's leg then at his face and then back at the road.

"Oh! Sorry I didn't even realize I was doing that. Sorry, Mr. Hogan!" Peter didn't even realize that in all his excitement, he was shaking his leg, which he tended to do a lot.

"Don't call me that," Happy grunted out.

"Call you what?" Peter was very confused. Wasn't that the man's name?

"Mr. Hogan," Happy explained which caused Peter to be even more confused.

"But... isn't that your name...?"

Happy looked like he wanted to roll the window back up, but he resisted the urge. "My name's Happy."

Peter knew that. Of course, he knew that, but he was only being respectful because that's what his Aunt taught him to do, 

"Oh, okay, Mr. Happy," Peter responded in kind. 

Happy rolled his eyes and then tightened his grip on the steering wheel, looking like he was about to throw himself out of the car so that he wouldn't be near Peter anymore. So Peter sat back in his seat and looked down at his lap. Maybe it was better than Happy had the window up because he didn't seem to like Peter too much.

Peter decided that he would be quiet for the rest of the ride so that he didn't annoy Happy but that only lasted about ten minutes until he looked out his window and saw the front entrance to Stark Tower.

"Woah! It's so big!" Peter looked out the window excitedly with wide eyes. He knew how big Tony Stark's tower was because he could usually see it from his school depending on where he was standing, but he could never see it from his apartment because there were always buildings blocking it.

The closest he's ever been to it was that one time he took a field trip with his class and they drove past the tower to go to the museum. That was a boring trip.

"I'm gonna take you up to see Tony once we park the car," Happy explained, but Peter was too excited even to speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really short just because I wanna ask you guys something...
> 
> Would you rather have weekly updates with chapters this length or just random updates so it could be once a week or once every two weeks with longer chapter lengths? 
> 
> Just because I could have made this chapter waaaayyy longer but I want to hear what you guys want first:)


	4. Trip to the tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii guys I’m back!!! I posted this chapter like an hour ago but I posted the wrong one so seriously, again, what would I do without my beta reader who helped me with that!!! 
> 
> I appreciate you sooo much!! 
> 
> Anyways I’m sorry I didn’t post an update in a long time I went on vacation and didn’t have time to write but I promise I’m not gonna go a month without posting again!

The car was parked outside of the tower right at the front entrance, or what Peter assumed was the front entrance.

Happy exited the car first and opened the door for him, but Peter was so in awe of what was happening that he didn't even realize he had forgotten to take off his seatbelt. He looked down, confused as to why he wasn't able to move anywhere. "Oh, oops."

He fumbled with his seatbelt for longer than necessary but eventually got it off and stepped out of the car before craning his neck to look up at the tower. If Peter weren't so distracted by the sight in front of him, he would have noticed Happy laughing as he struggled to get out of the car.

"Follow me, kid," Happy instructed. It took a few seconds for Peter to peel his eyes away from looking up at the tower, but he eventually did and began following Happy.

Peter could not believe what was happening. Part of him wanted to ask Happy to pinch him to make sure that he wasn't dreaming because this felt so surreal. Yet, Peter irrationally feared that he was possibly dreaming and that he would wake up eventually. The young teenager didn't want that.

Peter followed Happy into Stark Tower, and once he was inside, he looked up at the vast ceiling that looked like it was at least 100 feet high. The floors were a white marble colour, and Peter wondered how they kept them so clean looking. He was tempted to take off his shoes just so he wouldn't dirty the floors.

As they walked through the tower's front lobby, Peter noticed giant metal detectors that were placed at a security checkpoint. The view of the apparatus worried him quite a bit because he had to think back as to whether or not he had brought something that could potentially set off the security device. 

Happy stopped just before the metal detectors so abruptly that Peter nearly bumped into him. He turned around and suddenly spoke, "You're not carrying anything dangerous, are you?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders because he didn't really know how to respond as the question took him off guard. Happy interpreted that response a different way, "Would you rather go through the metal detectors or have me pat you down before I take you up?"

Peter was about to say that Happy could just pat him down, but then he heard a very familiar voice that he'd heard on youtube videos and talk shows so many times he couldn't even remember. 

"Patting him down means making me wait longer Hap. I've been wondering where you two were already!"

Peter felt his heart stop as he quickly turned his head towards the speaker and saw none other than Tony Stark.

Peter felt like he was dreaming. He was dreaming, and this wasn't real because he was going to wake up soon. But there he was, at Stark Industries with his hero walking towards him wearing what looked like a cat top and a suit jacket over it with jeans.

"Oh my gosh! You're-you're Tony Stark!" Peter sputtered in surprise before he slowly started walking towards Tony with the intent to greet him, but then Happy grabbed his arm.

"I have to pat you down first, kid" Happy spoke monotonously as he was about to start patting Peter down, but Tony stopped him.

"Hap, he's fine. He's a kid," Tony said and then crossed the distance between them. Peter was looking up at Tony with wide eyes.

"That's what they want you to think," Happy looked down at Peter and gave him a worried look, but Peter was too busy staring up at Tony.

Tony then focused his attention on the kid he had wanted to meet for a long time. The kid was staring up at him like he had just handed him the world, but he was used to those stares, "You don't have anything on you right, kid?"

Peter shook his head and then realized he was staring at the man for too long, so he tried to gather himself before he nervously stammered, "H-hi. I'm-I'm Uh, I'm Peter."

Tony smirked and held his hand out for the kid to shake. The kid whose voice was a lot more high pitched than he expected also looked a lot younger in person than in the pictures he's seen of him.

"Tony," Tony greeted. The kid shook his hand and then let go and put his hands behind his back as he continued to look up at him with so much wonder.

"It's so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Parker," Tony started, "We've been looking for someone like you to come and intern here at Stark Industries, and you fit the spot."

Peter still couldn't believe what was happening right now, and his heart was beating all too fast for his liking. "Thank-Thank you for uh, having me and Uh, picking m-me."

Tony smiled down at him because this kid was very polite, and he couldn't wait to see how Peter worked in the lab and wanted to put his smarts to the test. If this kid were anything close to how smart he was, then he would be amazed. Despite that, Tony cautioned himself mentally. He was aware that the kid was, in fact, a kid, so he might not be able to keep up in the lab with him, so he didn't get his hopes up.

"Let's go meet Pepper," Tony beckoned before he began walking off. Peter started following him, but he couldn't process everything that was happening.

Peter wasn't sure he heard that correctly. Had Mr. Stark just said that he intended to take him down to his lab? His personal lab where probably so many of the Iron Man suits were? He'd never actually seen one up close before, except for the one time at the Stark Expo when he was younger, where the suit had saved him from getting blasted by that drone.

"Do you want me to come or...?" Happy called out, not moving to follow yet.

"No, we don't want you, so go take a nap or something," Tony replied with a lazy wave of his hand. Tony hadn't even turned around to acknowledge the bodyguard and Peter couldn't help but laugh before remembering his manners.

"Um, thank you for driving me, Mr. Happy!" Peter shouted with a glance and a wave back at the burly man before he went to catch up with the billionaire. Tony laughed, so he looked up at him with slight confusion.

"Mr. Happy?" Tony questioned, "What's that?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders, still trying to understand the fact that he was talking to Tony Stark. He was definitely in a dream.

"Uh, well, he didn't like it when I called him Mr. Hogan, so I called him Mr. Happy... because that's his name, right?" Peter shrugged his shoulders and looked up at Tony, "I don't think he likes me."

Tony looked down at the kid and tried to think if he somehow got the wrong Peter Parker because how was this small innocent kid Spider-Man? It almost didn't make any sense, but Tony knew that FRIDAY couldn't have identified the vigilante incorrectly. The genius knew he had to keep pretending that he didn't know Peter's secret and wait until the kid was comfortable enough to tell him. Even though he was dying to ask him a bunch of questions.

"Happy's scared of kids, but don't tell him I told you that," Tony gently nudged Peter in the arm.

That caused Peter to let out a giggle, and Tony thought that it was probably the cutest thing he's ever heard. But then he thought better of it because why would THE Tony Stark find something cute?

"Let's go up to Pepper's office. She's there now. Then I'll show you my lab," Tony quipped before he noticed the youngster looking up at him as they stepped into the elevator to go up. He looked down at the kid who's eyes were wide as saucers and thought that they were going to fall out of the kid's eye sockets.

"Like, down-down to your actual, personal lab?" Peter asked, amazed. He could not believe what was happening right now.

"Yeah, that's what I said earlier kid," Tony couldn't help but tease the kid, "We could always just hang out at Pep's office while she works, but that's boring if you ask me."

Peter continued staring up at Tony with awe and then shook his head. "Uh, no-no, we can go to work in your lab."

Just then, FRIDAY chose to speak up, "Hello, sir. Who is this? I have no recognition of them in my databases." 

Obviously, FRIDAY already knew who Peter was and thankfully didn't expose that information. Tony had programmed FRIDAY to hide Peter's files, as he had been looking the kid up and stalking him for the past few days with FRIDAY's assistance. Tony really didn't want Peter to know about that just yet.

If it was even possible, Peter's eyes went even wider as he looked up towards the voice. Tony laughed, "Relax, kid. It's only FRIDAY, my AI. Say hi FRI, this is Peter Parker." 

"Hello, Mr. Parker. I am Tony's personal AI, and I run parts of the tower. Welcome," FRIDAY greeted warmly, causing Peter's facial expression to one that appeared to be both excited and scared. Tony wasn't sure. 

"That's so awesome! I heard you had your own personal AI that you designed yourself, but I never knew that it was this cool!" Peter said excitedly, "Hi, FRIDAY." 

Tony had to refrain and hold back from ruffling the kid's hair because it was all curly and looked as soft as a dog's fur. He could sense Peter's excitement just from standing next to him. When the elevator doors opened up on Pepper's office floor, he stepped out, ahead of Peter. Tony sensed the kid following him and picked up on the change of the younger one's vibe, no doubt nervous now since they were about to meet Pepper. Clearly, the kid was her fan too. Tony grinned and put an arm around his shoulders, not missing the way Peter leaned into the touch a bit more than what was necessary.

Tony didn't even bother letting Pepper know he was about to enter her office. He just pushed the door open and gently gestured Peter inside.

Pepper looked up from her computer and looked like she was about to start yelling at Tony for bursting into her office like he always does, but then her eyes glanced down towards Peter and they softened. She stood up and began making her way over to Peter.

"Oh, hello! You must be Peter. It's so nice to meet you, sweetie," Pepper shook his hand and greeted.

"Y-yeah, I'm Peter. It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Potts," Peter stuttered out, "My Aunt is a huge fan of yours! I mean, I am too, but -but my Aunt really likes you."

Pepper rounded her desk to sit back down with a smile on her face, "Oh, really? I spoke to her on the phone, and she sounds like a charming lady. I'd love to meet her someday."

Peter only nodded his head and began fiddling with his hands awkwardly because he honestly had no idea what to do. He was so excited, and he was trying so hard not to say something that would result in an embarrassing situation.

"Pete and I are gonna go to work now. Right, kid?" Tony opened the office door and waited for Peter to walk out, but he didn't.

"No, do you want to stay here for a bit, Peter? Tony, sit down. Then we can all talk," Pepper smile. She had really been looking forward to meeting the kid Tony has spoken nonstop about for the past few days, but now Tony wasn't even letting her talk to him. Selfish.

"No. Come, Pete. We're losing hours here," Tony reached forward and gently pulled Peter by the arm towards him so he would come "Bye, Pep!"

Peter paused only to turn around and wave bye, "Uh, bye, Ms. Potts! It was nice meeting you!"

Peter only caught a quick glance at Pepper, waving goodbye in an exasperated manner just before he was pulled out of the office by Tony.

Tony didn't feel any remorse for taking the kid away from Pepper since Peter was technically his intern. He still had so much he wanted to learn about Peter, like whether or not the youngster was actually as smart as Tony thinks he is. There was obviously no way to find answers about Spider-Man just yet since Peter was keeping his vigilante identity a secret. Tony had to accept the fact that they still had to slowly build that trust with each other.

Deep down, he hoped that Peter would soon tell him about his secret web-slinging alter-ego. Tony knew it was wishful thinking that Peter would reveal his identity to the genius when they had just only met today.

Tony wasn't sure if Peter would be able to keep up with him in the lab since no one has ever been able to. Not that he gave many people the chance to even try, so he wasn't sure if Peter could just because he was so young. And even if Peter was evidently smart, could eventually learn and gain the potential, Tony still slightly doubted Peter's ability at this age.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter asked in a small voice, looking up at Tony.

Tony pressed the elevator button to go down to his lab that had a finger scanning function. Only three people had access to his lab: Pepper, Rhodey, and himself.

"Hmm?"

He could see Peter fidgeting with his hands again, and he really wished he would stop being so nervous because he just wanted the kid to be himself right now. Apparently, it was probably going take a while before Peter overcame the awkward nervousness and hero-worship phase.

"Um, when we go down to your lab, do you have like, your Iron Man armour down there? Or is it somewhere else? Do you have more than one lab for different things, or do you do everything in the lab that we're headed to?" Peter stopped talking. He couldn't help himself, he was just so curious, and he too had many questions for the older genius.

Peter had always annoyed all of his teachers because of all the questions he's always asked them. He never really did stop talking, and he guessed his teachers hated that. Some liked it but most didn't.

Now being in high school meant that a lot more kids made fun of him for asking a bunch of questions, so he learned to stop.

But something about Tony's demeanour made him feel comfortable around the man. It made him feel like he could be himself and ask a bunch of questions without getting scared of getting in trouble or being made fun of. 

Peter knew that Tony was a bright man. He'd been a fan of the hero his whole life, even before he was Iron Man, so Peter practically knows almost everything about Tony Stark. Well, everything that the media reported on and published out there for the world to see. 

May had kept a few things from him when he was younger, and Peter guessed that it was due to some of the stuff that Mr. Stark did that wasn't suitable for a kid to hear about. 

Tony put his hand on Peter's shoulder and gently patted him. "I have a bunch of labs in my tower. Most of those are research and development labs where Stark Industries employees work, but we're headed to the main lab I usually work in. Actually, most of the time, I'm working here." 

"Woah. What about your Iron Man armour? Is it there?" Peter asked again. He didn't want to sound pushy, but he also really wanted to know if he would actually be able to see the Iron Man armour. 

"I have some Marks down here, but most of them are locked up at the moment," Tony saw the way Peter's face lit up with excitement, and he couldn't help but smile at the kid. "Wanna see it?" 

"Yes! Can I?" Peter wasn't sure Mr. Stark had actually asked him that question or not. Everything still felt like some sort of dream. 

The elevator doors opened up, revealing Tony's lab. Tony stepped out first and guided Peter over to where some of the Iron Man suits were displayed in glass cases. So he was wrong then, he actually did have some suits down here. 

"Oh my god, Mr. Stark!" Peter said in disbelief. He could not believe his eyes. 

"Yeah, have a look at that." Tony walked to the edge of the metal table and leaned against it as Peter looked on with wide eyes up at one of the suits. The way Peter looked up at the Ironman suits with so much childlike admiration made Tony proud because he didn't always view his suits that way. Of course, some other irrefutable peoples didn't admire the suit either. Sometimes, to Tony, his suit meant murder and destruction, but to see Peter look at it like that really did make him proud of his creation. 

"This is...insane! This is insane, I can't believe I'm actually here right now!" Peter kept looking between Tony and the Iron Man suit before finally settling on Tony, "Thank you, Mr. Stark! For-for picking me as your intern and-"

Tony cut him off because he wasn't really one for all that thanking and emotional talk, and he could tell Peter was getting into that, so he raised a hand to cut him off. "Hey, it's fine. No need to thank me. How about we get to work now?" 

Peter nodded his head aggressively, and Tony knew if he did that, then he would have a headache that would last him a week. 

"This here can be your workstation," Tony walked over to a metal desk with Peter following him, "Mine's over there." 

He pointed across the room to a much bigger, much more messy workstation that still had a few abandoned projects on it. Peter followed his finger and then his eyes lit up again when he saw Tony's workstation. 

"Woah! That's so crazy! Hey- that looks like one of my web shoo - oh, I mean um, that's cool, Mr. Stark" Peter almost just mentioned his web-shooters to Tony, and he had been trying so hard not to say anything but Tony didn't seem to notice. 

Tony heard Peter slip up, but he was expecting it. The genius didn't want to freak the kid out and act like he knew, so he didn't say anything and pretended he didn't hear. 

Peter began walking towards Tony's workstation, but Tony pulled him back, "Oh, sorry, Mr. Stark. I just wanted to see what you were working on." 

"Well, kid, you'll see soon-"

Peter tried to look over Tony's shoulder to see, "Is that a new suit? It doesn't look like it flies, though. Will the flight involve many scales of flights from staying on air in-house to intercontinental flights?" 

Tony took a step back in surprise. Did the kid actually know what all that meant? Was Peter actually way smarter than he initially thought he was?

"How do you know that the suit doesn't fly?" Tony eyed Peter questionably, but Peter got the wrong impression and sank in on himself, wrapping his arms around his stomach like he was trying to wallow up into a hole. 

"Oh, I'm-I'm sorry, I just-" Peter stopped talking when Tony held up his hand again for him to stop. 

"Never apologize for being the smartest person in the room, kid," Peter looked at Tony, confused. 

"But, Mr. Stark, you're the smartest person in the room," Peter pointed out. Tony was a genius, and there was no way he was even close enough to be smarter than the man. Not a chance. 

Tony hummed before snapping his fingers with a flourish and proclaiming, "Let's see about that then. You seem to be pretty smart yourself, Pete." 

Peter looked away from Tony because he was blushing red. He could feel his face heating up. He had just been praised by Tony Stark! 

"How about you take a seat here and just build whatever you want with this," Tony walked to his desk and grabbed a bin filled with parts from his Iron Man suit that either broke off or weren't needed anymore. He had been planning to see what the kid could build and how his thought process worked, so he put everything that he could think of for the kid to use in the bin. Of course, he made sure that it was all safe first so that there were no accidental bombs that could go off. 

Peter eyed the bin suspiciously as Tony brought it over to his table and slammed it down. He watched Peter peek into the container curiously before looking up at Tony questionably. "So I can build whatever I want with this? Do I have to use all the parts?" 

"Build whatever you want," Tony clarified, "You don't have to use all those parts, and if you need something else, you can just ask me. I'll be over there."

Peter nodded in understanding and got to work. There was a pen and some paper on his desk so he thought about what he could build. It didn't take long for Peter to figure out what he would build, and once he figured that out, he started searching for the parts he needed. 

Tony watched on curiously as the kid worked. He couldn't help but watch him, he could tell Peter knew what he was building, but Tony had no idea, and he really wanted to know. The way Peter stuck out his tongue while he continued to concentrate was almost funny. Peter had sat on his knees so he could easily reach into the bin and grab what he needed. Tony could tell that Peter knew exactly what he was looking for and what he needed. 

After about twenty minutes of working, Tony got an idea of what Peter was creating. If Peter could actually accomplish the feat of building what Tony assumed he was, then Tony would be extremely impressed. 

Peter glanced up from his workstation and looked at Tony. "Um, Mr. Stark? Do you have any loose wires to- never mind." 

Peter seemed to find what he was looking for and smiled embarrassingly as he continued to get back to work. About another twenty minutes past before Peter was speaking again. 

"I'm done, Mr. Stark," Peter announced. 

Tony was surprised that the kid was finished so quickly, but he was also simultaneously glad since he was dying to know what Peter had been up to. The older man walked over to Peter's table and looked at the creation at hand. 

"You're done?" Tony asked because Peter looked a little unsure of what he built. 

Peter nodded his head "Uh, I think so?" 

"How about you explain what you built," Tony suggested. That seemed to get Peter excited again as he jumped off his stool and started explaining. 

"Well, I built something that acts like a blocker for your Iron Man suit. The suit can use this," Peter held up the black piece of metal that had wires hanging out of it and gestured to Tony, "to have a layer of Sorbothane on the inside to counter the impact. I decided to, um, use the Sorbothane, because it converts the impact energy into heat to absorb shock, and um, lessens the vibrations from all the Ironman Suit contraptions." 

Tony was in awe. He had never expected Peter, a child, or anyone else to have the knowledge to build something like this and know what they were talking about. 

"Woah, Peter, that's…," Tony was actually speechless, "that's impressive." 

Peter smiled proudly up at Tony and then pointed to where the wires were attached to "Can I demonstrate how this works?"

"Go ahead, bud." 

Peter grinned excitedly and began explaining, "This is like one of your repulsors, but I know that your whole suit has Uranium energy density that is 80,000,00 kg or something like that, so this is just a smaller, less powerful version of that, I guess." 

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing and how incredibly smart this kid was. It was unbelievable. 

Peter started fiddling with the wires, and he stuck his tongue out again "I don't know if it actually works but-"

Before Tony could even stop him, the mini repulsor that Peter made with the broken down wires and other broken pieces went off and sent a blast across the room and sent Peter stumbling back. 

Tony felt his heart race to try and catch the kid before he fell back and to grab the device out of his hands. "Peter! Don't-" 

Tony cut himself off and held Peter with one hand while the other took the device, the weapon away from the actual child in the room. Tony quickly went to place the device on his workstation so that it was away from young hands and also so that he could look at later. He was very impressed with the kid. 

Tony, however, hadn't expected to turn back and find Peter in the corner of the lab, with his arms around himself again in a depressed manner. 

"Pete, it's okay-" 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow up your lab. I'm s-sorry. M-Mr. Stark," Peter stuttered out. He had no idea he was even capable of building such a powerful weapon, and he just blew up Tony Stark's lab! Now Peter feared he was going to be in trouble or even worse, sent home. 

"Hey, kid, calm down," Tony walked over to Peter and bent down so that he was at the kid's eye level "I'm not mad at you. I'm actually… I'm impressed. I'm really impressed. I never expected you or anybody to ever be able to build something like that in such a short amount of time. How old are you again?" 

"Um, I'm fourteen..." 

Tony knew how old the kid was, but he was trying to make Peter feel better. "Wow! At that age, I don't think I would have even been able to do that." 

"But-but I just blew up your lab and-" 

Tony laughed and gestured to his lab. "It's not blown up, kiddo. Look, you should have seen what I did to this lab back when I was first building the Mark Two." 

Peter laughed lightly because he had always wondered how many trial and errors Tony had to deal with before the actual Iron Man armour was completed. 

"It was a mess. But this," Tony gestured to the spot that Peter sort of blew up in the far corner, "is nothing, so don't worry about it."

"So-so, you're not mad at me?" Peter asked hesitantly. He didn't think Tony was mad at him, but he didn't know the man well enough to tell. 

Tony shook his head and stood up, holding out a hand for Peter to take. "Nope. I'm actually really impressed, Pete. I knew you were smart, but I didn't know you were this smart. Don't worry about it. That accident is on me since I should have gone over basic safety protocols before we started. And we're both uninjured, so it's fine!" 

Peter smiled and looked down at the floor again because Tony Stark was actually complimenting him. He felt his cheeks turn red at it. 

"Um, thank you, Mr. Stark," Tony smiled down at the kid. He was glad that Peter seemed to be out of whatever state he was in. 

"We might as well clean this up later. You hungry? How about we go up and order some pizza?" Tony suggested. They had been in the lab for quite some time, so even he was starting to get hungry. The billionaire felt guilty that he didn't offer any food to the kid beforehand. 

"Uh, Okay. I'm a little hungry," Peter responded in truth. Peter hadn't intended to say anything to Tony before because he always had difficulty speaking up when asking for something he needed, like food, water or a bathroom break. 

They made their way up to Tony's private floor, and Peter couldn't believe his eyes. The ceilings were huge, and the floor was a beautiful but cold marble that made Peter want to run and slide on his socks. He stopped the urge before Tony looked down at him like a child. 

Tony walked towards what Peter guessed was the kitchen, so he followed the man feeling like a lost puppy. 

Peter couldn't help but look up in awe at Tony's private floor. It was like something out of a magazine for the top 10 of the most beautiful houses in the world! 

"Woah! The ceilings are so high, and everything's so…" Peter tried to think of the right word, "big." 

Tony laughed at Peter's way of describing everything. "Yeah, I guess everything is kinda big. Now how about we order a big pizza? What do you want on it?" 

"Hmm, cheese. And pepperoni!" Peter responded. The spiderling usually only ate cheese, but May liked pepperoni, so he guessed that Tony would too. 

Tony hummed, "My kinda pizza, kid." 

"FRIDAY, order two large pizzas, one cheese and one pepperoni," Tony spoke and then turned around and started making a coffee as Peter's eyes went wide. 

"Yes, Boss," FRIDAY said. 

"Mr. Stark! That's not what I meant!" Peter said frantically, "You could put half and half." 

Tony just hummed as his coffee poured. "It's fine, kid. That way, we can have leftovers. You're also a growing boy." 

Unless Tony intended to host a party later on tonight, Peter didn't know why someone would need so much leftover pizza. 

"What do you wanna drink?" Tony didn't think he had anything actually for the kid to drink, something that he would actually like. He only had alcohol and water. 

"Um? It doesn't matter," Peter mumbled. The youngster didn't want to ask for anything unless Tony offered because he felt too shy. He watched Tony look in the fridge with his coffee in one hand and shut it quickly. 

"I'll order something. So tell me what you like to drink." Peter just shrugged his shoulders and Tony could tell already that the kid was shy when it came to asking for stuff. "Come on, work with me, kid. I can't read your mind. What do you like?" 

"Apple juice," Peter suggested as he tried to think back to what May generally bought for groceries, "and… maybe fruit juice or grape juice." 

"Hear that, FRI?" 

"I ordered Mr. Parker's juice to the tower," FRIDAY said helpfully. 

Peter didn't really know what to say because he always hated it when people bought things for him because it made him feel uncomfortable. It was as though he was using them, and he didn't like that feeling, so he just awkwardly played with a loose hem of his shirt. 

"Sit down, kid. Make yourself comfortable," Tony gestured to the kitchen island where there were a bunch of stools to sit on. 

Peter nodded his head and stiffly climbed on top of one of the stools. 

"What do you-" 

Tony was cut off by Pepper walking into the room. Her loud heels echoed on the marble floor, getting louder as she made her way towards the two. 

"What have you boys been up to?" Pepper asked, standing next to Tony. 

"Pete and I have been in the lab. We just came up to eat something," Tony explained. He couldn't wait to tell Pepper how incredibly amazing and smart the kid is. 

"Yeah! Mr. Stark's lab is so cool!" Peter added excitedly, but he felt a little uncomfortable. He had needed to go to the bathroom for the past hour, but the feeling wasn't that bad initially, so he didn't mention it. But now, he felt his level of discomfort increasing, so he decided to speak up. "Um, Mr. Stark?"

Both Pepper and Tony turned to him, "Yeah, bud?" 

"Um," Peter avoided eye contact as he spoke softly, "Where's the um, bathroom? I think I'll go wash my hands before the food gets here." 

Peter glanced up at Tony and saw Pepper look over at Tony in shock and annoyance, but he didn't know why. 

"It's down that hall and to the left," Tony pointed to where it was "It's gonna be the second door on the right." 

"Okay. Thank you," Peter slid off his seat and followed Tony's directions hoping he wasn't about to get lost in Tony's tower. That would be embarrassing. 

As soon as Peter was gone, Tony attempted to turn around and begin explaining things to Pepper, but she hit him hard in the arm. "What? Ow! What's that for?" 

Pepper glared at him, angrily, "Are you serious, Tony? You didn't even tell him where the bathroom was before he had to ask you? He's a child! Is this also the first meal you're feeding him today? That better not be the case!" 

Tony didn't like it when Pepper spoke with her stern voice because she was actually really scary when she wanted to be. Tony held up his hands up in defence. "He never asked before, so I didn't think of telling him and … well, we've been busy, Pep. This kid is amazing. He's incredibly smart, let me tell you, he built a miniature gauntlet in under an hour without any instruction. He knew how to build it, Pep! He's amazing! I mean, he did blow up a corner of my lab. It sent him flying back, so I had to catch him and take it away from him, but he did it all by himself!" 

Tony couldn't contain his excitement. It had been a long time since he was actually this happy and enthusiastic about something. A long time. 

Pepper was still giving Tony her look, and he didn't like it. "You let him blow up your lab, Tony, come on? Weren't you watching him? You can't bring a child into your lab and not supervise!" 

Tony sighed. Why was she yelling at him like this? Didn't she understand how smart the kid was? 

"Well, Pep, it was only a corner of my lab, and he's fine. I'm fine. The lab is fine. I was watching him and made sure he didn't do anything too dangerous to hurt himself," Tony explained, "But, Pep, this kid he's -he's so smart. I've never seen anyone as smart as him and at his age. He's brilliant!" 

"That's amazing, Tony. He's a really sweet boy, and I'm sure he's brilliant too," Pepper sighed. Tony knew she was admitting defeat in this argument. Tony was thankful that she was understanding, but their conversation was cut short as Peter appeared around the corner. 

"Find the bathroom, okay?" Tony asked, hoping that Peter hadn't heard what he was saying. The genius didn't think the kid could have heard. 

"Yeah," Peter sat down on the stool again just as the elevator doors were being opened. He looked over and saw Happy walking in holding two large pizza boxes and a bag of what Peter guessed was his juice. 

"Hey, Hap, thanks for bringing that up. I'll Uh, tell you when it's time to bring the kid home," Tony told Happy as the latter set the food and drinks down on the counter. Happy shared a confused look with Pepper, then shrugged and walked back into the elevator. 

Tony grabbed three plates and handed them to Peter and Pepper and placing one in front of himself. "Help yourself, kid." 

Peter shyly grabbed a slice of cheese pizza and began eating it as Pepper grabbed a slice as well. She then turned to Peter, "What time do you have to be home, honey?" 

Peter shrugged. Aunt May never said he had to be home at any time, so he didn't really know. "I'm not sure. My Aunt never really told me what time I have to be home at?" 

"Stop trying to rush him out, Pep! The kid wants to stay here and work with me in the lab some more, right kid?" Tony didn't want Peter to go home just yet because he didn't really know when Peter would be able to come over next. The genius really wanted to continue working on some things in the lab with him. 

"Yeah, can we go back down to your lab now?" Peter asked excitedly. He didn't really want to just sit here and eat pizza. The young vigilante preferred working in Mr. Stark's lab, despite the incident earlier. 

"Nothing's stopping us," Tony smirked as he grabbed both pizza boxes. "Grab your juice and let's go." 

"Okay!" There were three types of juices, but Peter grabbed the apple juice because that was probably his favourite. 

Pepper watched the two disappear into the elevator and sighed. Tony must really like this kid if he was trying to keep him in the lab instead of kicking him out. She knew that Tony liked having his own personal space, and highly disliked having others in his labs. So it was new to see Tony so interested in the kid. 

.  
.  
.

Tony and Peter were down in the lab eating pizza and drinking apple juice. Well, Peter was drinking apple juice, but Tony was drinking coffee, but it was basically what they both imagined to be the perfect day. 

Peter still couldn't believe that he was actually in Tony Stark's lab, eating pizza and building stuff with the man. He still expected to wake up from a dream. 

Tony, on the other hand, couldn't believe how amazing and smart the kid was. And he was only fourteen, it was crazy. He liked to work alone in his lab for many reasons, but one of the most common reasons was just the fact that no one could keep up with him. 

If he were to have someone come and work in his lab, then he would be required to spend more time trying to teach them stuff and show them what to do, instead of actually getting any work done. Tony knew he didn't have the patience for that. At all. 

But Peter was different. 

He was smart. Really smart and so far from what Tony could tell, he picked up on things quickly and understood what he was taught and shown. 

Tony had no idea how long they had been in the lab for, but it must have been longer than he expected because Pepper arrived suddenly within the lab. He always lost track of time when he worked. 

"Do you have any idea what time it is, Tony?" Pepper asked angrily when she walked in, crossing her arms and looking at Tony. 

Tony spun on his chair to look at Peter, who was standing right next to him, helping him put some wires on a motherboard. No matter how many times Tony told him to sit down, Peter refused and continued standing. Tony didn't think anything of it because he could tell right from the beginning that Peter was really hyperactive. 

Plus, the kid was really helpful. Tony sometimes couldn't get the wires where they were supposed to be because his hands were too big. The genius had to build a whole machine just to do it for him, but Peter still had small hands, so it was a lot faster and easier for Peter to do it. 

"Tony?" Pepper said again after no one said anything. Tony just looked at Peter, who shrugged because the kid didn't know why Pepper was asking. 

"I don't know what time it is, Pep, but if you had checked your phone instead of coming down here to ask me, it would have saved a lot of time," Tony heard Peter try to muffle his laugh, and it made him smile. 

Pepper, on the other hand, was not happy "Very funny, Tony. Come on, honey. Happy will take you home." 

Pepper gestured for Peter to go to her, but Peter just looked down sadly and didn't move. He didn't want to leave just yet because he was really enjoying spending time with Mr. Stark. 

Tony felt the kid immediately slump down, so he looked over at him and saw that he looked sad. Tony didn't want the kid to leave either, so he grumbled, "Stop trying to take the kid away from me, Pep. We're working." 

"Tony," Pepper warned with a glare, "It's almost nine. Peter has school tomorrow, and I don't think his Aunt would appreciate you bringing him home any later than it already is." 

Tony had no idea how it got so late. It didn't even feel like it was three in the afternoon, never mind nine at night, "Shit, kid. I didn't realize how late it was. I'll walk you up to Happy, so he can take you home." 

Peter didn't want to leave, but he had no idea it had gotten so late. He'd been so distracted with Mr. Stark. He reluctantly followed Tony and Pepper into the elevator. The trio headed towards the lobby of the tower where Happy was waiting for them, looking tired and annoyed. The same way he looked this morning. 

Peter happily greeted the man, "Hi, Happy!"

Happy gave him a tired wave and began walking towards the entrance without a second glance, "Let's get going, kid." 

Sadly, Peter turned to Tony and Pepper and gave them a weak wave. "Bye, Miss. Potts! Bye, Mr. Stark! Uh, thanks for having me… and for the pizza and apple juice." 

"No problem, kid," Tony replied while trying not to show the disappointment on his face.

"Bye, honey. Tell your Aunt we say hello," Pepper called out to Peter, who was being slowly dragged towards the car by Happy. Peter continued to wave to them until he was outside. 

As Happy not so gently pushed him into the back seat and told him to buckle up, Peter couldn't help but brood because now the day was done. The fantastic, unbelievable day was over, and he wasn't sure if he'll even see Mr. Stark again. Would Mr. Stark want to keep Peter on as an intern after their first meeting? 

Peter wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like it:) I’m gonna try and get the next chapter out by next week some time!


	5. What happens now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I’m sorry! I promised I wouldn’t go another month without posting again and here I am:( I’m sorrryyy!! It’s just been really busy with life and stuff so I hope you guys understand! I’m still writing and I won’t give up on this fic!

Peter felt very anxious during the car ride back to his apartment. 

Happy didn't talk to him, but that was expected since the man didn't appear to be talkative. Peter didn't try speaking to the older man because his thoughts were too busy taking up all his attention. 

He had enjoyed spending the entire day with Tony down in the business man's personal lab. It felt too good to be true, as though it was some test or something. But Mr. Stark had said that he was going to be the man's new intern for some new initiative that Stark Industries was doing. It still didn't feel real. 

Peter wasn't sure when or even if he was going to see Tony again. He obviously really wanted to go back to the tower because he had looked up to Tony Stark ever since he was a little kid. Peter couldn't even count all the times that Tony had helped him through difficult moments in his life just by being Tony Stark; by being Iron Man. Tony's presence alone made Peter feel powerful in times when he felt vulnerable. 

As much as Peter wanted to go revisit Tony, he had no way of contacting him. Tony also never mentioned anything about him coming back, so he didn't want to get his hopes up only for them to be let down later. 

Happy was pulling over to the side of the road in front of Peter's apartment building and putting the car in park. Peter was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized they'd arrived at his apartment so soon. The young hero shook himself out of his thoughts and went to unbuckle his seatbelt. He was about to thank Happy for the ride, but Happy turned around in his seat before he could exit the car. 

"Here's my number. Don't call me, though. I'll phone you when Tony plans on having you over next," Happy said as he leaned over and handed Peter a business card. Peter didn't know why he was given the card if he wasn't allowed to contact the man, but he didn't say anything about it. He would save the number in his phone anyways. 

"Thank you! Do you Uh, know when Mr. Starks gonna, you know, have me over next-"

Happy cut Peter off to his surprise, "No idea, kid. Have a great night!"

Peter knew that was Happys' polite' way of getting him out of the car, so he wasted no time in opening the door and stepping out. But just before he closed the door, he thanked the man, "Thanks for the ride, Mr. Happy!"

Peter heard Happy mumble something that he couldn't even pick up on even with his spidey hearing as he shut the car door and watched Happy speed away. Peter was too happy to care about that, though, because he had just spent an amazing day with Tony Stark and now he had Happy's number. Hopefully, Happy would get in touch with him soon? 

Peter skipped up the steps to his apartment building and made his way up the stairs as the elevator was broken. Again. He didn't mind taking the stairs, though, because he still had so much energy even though it was getting late in the day. He had experienced a busy and exciting day, and therefore he felt too high on excitement. 

He got to his apartment door and knocked because he hadn't thought to bring his keys in the first place. 

May opened the door after a few moments and immediately held her arms out for Peter and exclaimed, "Hi, baby! How was it? Tell me everything!"

Peter hugged May back as he pushed his way into the apartment. He proceeded to jump over the couch after breaking their hug, settling down and preparing himself to recount his day. May sat down as well, taking up her usual movie spot on the sofa, but this time Peter wasn't cuddled next to her and chose to sit on the far end of the couch instead. 

"It was so cool, May! I actually met Tony Stark, and, well, you know I've looked up to him for so long and- and Miss. Potts told me to say 'Hi' to you by the way," Peter rambled before he paused for a split second to garner May's reaction, "and then, Mr. Stark took me down to his lab, and he told me to build something, so I did, but I accidentally blew up the counter of his lab! And I was scared that he was gonna get mad at me, but he didn't, and he said that I was really smart! Can you believe that Tony Stark said I was smart?!"

Peter took a breath. "He's like the most brilliant person in the world, and he said I was smart! Anyways, then we ate pizza and went back down to his lab, oh! And his house- or like his tower is huge! And it's so cool too! Okay, so after that, we went down to his lab again, but we didn't know how late it was, so Miss. Potts came down and got mad at Mr. Stark, so then I had to go but, May! It was so cool! I got Happy's number!" 

May was barely keeping up with everything her nephew was saying, but she was so happy for him. It had been a long time since he was genuinely this excited and happy about something since Ben died, so it was really lovely to see. She just hoped that this didn't turn out to bite Peter in the butt in the future. 

"That's so amazing, Peter, and I'm so happy for you," May said excitedly as she clasped her hands together, before faking a gasp and putting her hand over her mouth. "Did you say that Pepper Potts actually said 'Hi' to me?!" 

May's reaction just caused Peter to roll his eyes and toss a pillow at her. May caught the pillow and playfully threw it back to Peter, but he dodged it. 

"Are you gonna go back soon, baby?" May questioned with a tilt of her head.

Peter's smile sank a little bit as he shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Happy didn't say, but I hope so because I really want to." 

May stood up from the couch and walked towards Peter, pressing a kiss to his hair, "I'm sure he'll call you soon, Peter. I don't want you to stress about it too much." 

Peter sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was getting a little tired now, and May noticed it.

"Go to sleep, baby, you have school tomorrow," May urged as she ruffled his hair.

Peter stood up, giving May a quick hug before running off towards his bedroom. Before Peter managed to slam his door, May called out, "I'm gonna be working until late tomorrow night, so I'll leave money on the counter for dinner!" 

"Okay, May! I love you, good night!" Peter hollered back.

"Love you too! Good night, Pete!" May replied. Peter slammed the bedroom door and excitedly turned towards his ceiling, where he hid his Spider-Man suit. 

Sure he was a little tired, but crime never stopped. He hadn't been out as Spider-Man at all today, so he at least had to get a few hours in. Jumping up and moving the ceiling tile over, Peter grabbed his suit out from his hiding spot and laid it out on his bed. 

He slipped off his jeans and shirt, standing in just in his undergarments. Peter was ready to put his Spider-Man suit on, but just as he was about to do so, there was a knock at his door that caused him to jump back. 

"Um, May I'm changing!" Peter said with his voice high pitched. 

"Put something on, I just wanna say something to you real quick," May said from the other side of the door. 

Peter hurriedly shoved his Spider-Man suit under his bed and put on a random t-shirt and pair of sweats. Standing there, awkwardly, he invited his Aunt in by calling out, "Uh, come in." 

The door opened, revealing Mays smiling face. She walked in and leaned against his desk. "I just wanted to say how proud of you I am, Peter. I know these last few months have been tough for you with Ben and all. I know you try to pretend that it doesn't make you sad, but I know it does, baby, and I just want to tell you that I'm really proud of you, okay?" 

Peter relaxed a bit and looked down at his feet. It had been very hard these past few months. Still, he never talked to May about it unless it got too much, and he needed someone to cry to. The young boy tried to hold it in the best he could because he didn't want her to worry about him. 

"I know you are, Aunt May," Peter looked up at May and gave her a weak smile. He didn't wanna rush her out when they were in the middle of a deep conversation like this. They never talked about Uncle Ben that much anymore. It was still too sensitive of a topic. 

May stood up straight and moved to give Peter another hug. He hugged her back, feeling guilty for wanting to go out as Spider-Man and leaving May alone when he should stay and make sure she was okay. Yet, the thought of all the crime potentially happening out there outweighed his guilt. May would be okay. 

May pulled away and ruffled his hair before leaving. "Go to sleep. Love you" 

"Love you, May." 

Peter waited until his door was shut and unconsciously held his breath as he carefully listened to May, making her way to her bedroom. He heard the sound of a door closing before he grabbed his Spider-Man suit from under his bed and quickly put it on. 

Peter always felt so good in his suit because it reminded him of Iron Man. When he first got his powers, he was confused and scared, and he didn't know what to do with them. 

He could have chosen to use his new powers for good or bad. Or he could have chosen not to use them at all. But here Tony Stark was using his brain and his intelligence to build something to help make the world a better place. To help protect the world. 

Peter obviously wasn't capable of protecting the whole world, but if he could help make Queens a better and safer place, then he would do that. 

And that's precisely what he chose to do. 

Opening up his window, Pete felt the cold air hit his skin. Not surprising, though, because his suit wasn't that thick, to begin with. Peter figured this would become a big concern for the upcoming winter, but right now, it was okay. 

Peter climbed out of his bedroom window, breathing in the nighttime cold air before he began climbing down the wall of the apartment building. He jumped off, enjoying the butterflies in his stomach just before shooting a web out to catch himself. 

Time to begin his night of Spider-Manning.

.  
.  
.

Tony was in his lab, admiring what Peter had built. 

It was amazing how someone so young could have so much talent and be capable of building something so technologically advanced and complicated such as this. 

Tony really underestimated how smart Peter was when he sent out the letter related to fake internship to Peter's school to try and rope the spiderling in. Tony wasn't regretting anything. The man was actually thrilled that Peter was knowledgeable. Maybe even genius level. 

Peter was no doubt smarter than Tony was at his age. The young boy wasn't more intelligent than the current Tony. The businessman still considered the young boy to be something of a prodigy. Tony found himself wanting to find out more about the kid to test how smart he is, as well as ask him a bunch of questions about Spider-Man, but he couldn't do that just yet. 

There was a knock on the glass door on Tony's lab, which took him away from his thoughts. He looked up and saw that it was Pepper, holding a mug in her hand. 

"What are you doing still up?" Pepper asked. She placed the mug on his desk and leaned against it, "I thought you would have been in bed after your exhausting day." 

Tony rolled his eyes. He grabbed the mug and took a sip but made a disgusted face when he tasted that it was, in fact, tea instead of coffee. "Why are you trying to poison me with this, Pep?" 

"It's tea. Drink it," Pepper refuted as she pushed the mug towards Tony's mouth so he could take another sip. 

"I don't drink tea," Tony said stubbornly with a pout, "I drink coffee." 

Pepper rolled her eyes. "It's too late for coffee, but enough of that talk, tell me about Peter." 

Tony placed his cup of tea on his work table and crossed his arms, trying to think about what to tell Pepper. He wasn't hiding anything from her. Pepper knew the kid was Spider-Man and also about his intelligence. Tony didn't mind her knowing all of that, but he did mind her finding out how he actually wanted the kid to come back so he could work with him more. He didn't want Pepper knowing that he actually enjoyed working with Peter. 

Pepper raised her eyebrows at him when he didn't say anything, so Tony raised his eyebrows back at her. "What?" 

"Oh, come on, Tony!" Pepper said, exasperated. "You were down in your lab with him all day and would have stayed there if I didn't come down to send the boy home. If it were anyone else, then you would have ignored them until they left you alone." 

Tony knew she was right. Undeniably, If it were anyone else besides Peter, he would have been annoyed after only a few minutes of them being down in his lab. He would have kicked them out, but Peter was different. Peter had a fantastic aptitude. He also had this… this thing about him that made the young boy so likeable and fun to be around. Maybe it was his innocence that was so new and fresh to have around in the lab. Perhaps it was because he had the brains to - almost - Rival Tony's. 

Either way, Tony wanted to officially make Peter his intern and have him come to the tower to work with him more often. 

.  
.  
.

Peter was exhausted. 

He didn't get home from the tower until about 9:45PM last night and then went out as Spider-Man until early this morning. 

Peter barely got three hours of sleep last night, but he didn't care that much because he was way too happy to even try and care about his exhaustion. 

Peter Parker met Tony Stark. He could not believe his life at all. He didn't know if he should call Happy and ask for permission to come by the tower again soon, but he decided against that. At least not today, well, not right this moment. Maybe in a few hours. The man did say he would be in touch before long. 

"You will not believe what my mom bought me!" Ned said excitedly to Peter, who was putting textbooks away in his locker. Peter turned, looking over his shoulder so he could see Ned's face before refacing the locker to finish putting his things away.

"What did she buy you, Ned?" Peter asked. He had an idea what Ned's mom bought only because the two of them have been talking about it for the past month. He was excited, anyway. 

"The NEW Lego Death Star!" Ned placed a tiny LEGO figure on Peter's shoulder, which caused Peter to excitedly slam his locker and grab the LEGO from Ned and look at it. They both started walking down the hallway towards their first-period class. "I thought that you could come by today after school and we can start building it, what do you say?" 

Peter was about to say yes but stopped himself with an afterthought. He wanted so badly to go over to Ned's house and build LEGOs with him, but he had a responsibility as Spider-Man right now. People needed him so he couldn't go over to Ned's house all the time. "I can't come today. I gotta help May around the house and stuff because she has to work a late shift tonight." 

"You always help May with stuff around the house," Ned sighed with a look of defeat upon his face, "Are you sure you can't ask your aunt to excuse you just this once?" 

Peter lied to his best friend a lot, but he was doing it for a good reason, so he tried not to feel too bad about it. It doesn't mean he didn't still feel a little bit bad. "I'm sorry, Ned, but I can't. You know she needs me right now, after everything. Maybe we can build it this weekend?" 

Ned sighed dejectedly, "Alright. I understand. See you at lunch?" 

Peter nodded his head and quickly did his handshake with his best friend before walking into his first-period class. 

Peter wanted so badly to tell Ned that he met Tony Stark, but he was scared to do so because that meant that Ned would ask him questions he didn't have the answers to. He had a mental debate with himself for the first half of his first-period class and decided that he would tell Ned at lunch because Ned was his best friend, and he trusted him. 

Plus, Peter wanted to tell Ned so they could talk about it together. Peter already did that with May last night, but she wasn't the same as Ned and Peter really wanted to talk about this with his best friend. It already wasn't fair that he had blown off Ned one too many times. Telling Ned about his meeting with Mr. Stark wouldn't hurt, right?  
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.  
.

"Hey, Ned! Wait for me!" Peter shouted as he ran over to Ned after he had spotted him at the other end of the hallway. Lunch had started ten minutes ago, but Peter just got out of class. He had been stuck talking to his teacher about everything he missed during his absence yesterday, which was apparently a lot. Peter wasn't upset though, as he wouldn't change the fact that he was probably now Tony's intern. He decided that now would be the ideal time to fill Ned in about what occurred the previous day.

Ned spotted Peter at the end of the hallway and waved to indicate that he had been waiting for him. "Hey, Peter! How was biology?" 

"Good, I missed a lot yesterday, but I have to tell you something," Peter gasped as he tried to catch his breath, "Guess what?!" 

"What?" Ned asked excitedly. 

Peter couldn't hold it in any longer, "I met Tony Stark. Yesterday. I went to The Tower." 

Ned's eyes practically burst out of its sockets from how wide he opened them "What?! No way! How? When? What? Peter, what do you mean you met THE Tony Stark?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" 

Peter covered Ned's mouth with his hand so that no one heard, "Shhhh Ned. No one can know. That's why I didn't tell you until now!" 

Ned pushed Peter's hand off his mouth before he exclaimed, "What?! Tell me everything, Peter." 

"Remember Tuesday morning when I told you I got called down to the office?" Peter asked, continuing when Ned nodded his head "Well the principal told me that they received a letter from Stark Industries asking ME to be Mr. Stark's new intern-"

"Wait, wait, wait! I thought Stark Industries didn't hire high school interns?" Ned interrupted to ask. 

"They don't. Well, at least not before, but they do now. Anyway, I went home and told May, but she didn't believe it. So she called and spoke to Pepper Potts and-and then it was legit so yesterday Mr. Happy, Tony Stark's driver, picked me up and I met Mr. Stark!" Peter answered, excitedly.

Peter paused to let Ned take it all in, before he continued, "It was so crazy, Ned! I actually met him, and you know how long I've looked up to him for?! I sleep on his face- I mean I-I have Iron Man bed sheets, and now I've met him! And I worked in his lab with him, too!" 

Ned grabbed onto Peter's hands to try and steady himself. "Oh my gosh, Peter! That's unbelievable and crazy and so so cool!" Ned said excitedly as he could not believe what he heard, "I can't believe you met Tony Stark!" 

Peter covered Ned's mouth again. He couldn't have anyone knowing about this, mainly because no one else knew that he was Spider-Man. Not Tony or even Ned and he wanted to keep it that way. 

"Shhh, Ned. Stop saying that so loud!" Peter hissed nervously 

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. I'm just really excited," Ned whispered to conceal his excitement to ask more questions for now. "So, what happens now? Are you his special intern or something?" 

Peter's face fell. He didn't know what would happen now or if he was Tony Stark's intern. Things ended weirdly last night when he had to hurriedly leave the tower after Pepper informed them about the lateness of the hour. Tony hadn't mentioned anything, nor did he give Peter his number. Not that Peter expected the man to give his personal number out to some random kid, but still. He had hoped that Happy would have at least gotten in touch by now.

"I don't know," Peter said sadly, "I don't exactly know what's gonna happen next." 

.  
.  
.

When Peter got home from school, he immediately threw his jacket and bag down by the front door and skipped to his bedroom so he could go out as Spider-Man. 

His homework could wait for later tonight after he did some patrolling. 

Something about meeting Tony Stark and going into the tower made Peter want to be a better hero. He wanted to help more people and help make the world, or at least Queens, a better and safer place. 

Tony's hero vibes must have rubbed off on him a lot, despite the short time they spent together.

Peter debated on whether he should text or call Happy from the number on the card the man gave him, but he didn't want to sound annoying and desperate. The young hero knew he needed to be patient.

Peter quickly tugged off all his clothes asides from his underwear and put on his homemade Spider-Man suit. It was freezing outside, and it was only getting colder. Peter expected that it would be tough not to freeze while he was out helping people. Still, he didn't have any other choice. 

After getting his suit on, Peter slipped out the window and immediately shot a web to the building beside his so he could get a better view of the city. 

Peter wasn't sure how long he was outside, but he thought it had to have been at least two or three hours since his hands and legs were freezing. Actually, his whole body was cold as ice. 

He decided to start to swing home since he already fought enough crime for one night. He helped stopped a car accident. It was actually just a fender bumper, but he prevented it nonetheless. He also stopped two older guys from taking a younger girl's purse, and a young boy who's cat got stuck up in a tree. 

In was a good night considering how cold he was the whole time, but Peter decided it was time to return home. Not that he had much of a choice because he was freezing and wanted his warm track pants and sweater. 

Peter began swinging back, shooting a web onto a building and letting himself fall just before catching himself again and shooting another web. He had been travelling for a bit and was nearing his apartment when he suddenly saw a flash of gold and red pass by him. 

Peter felt his heart drop into his stomach at the sight. Iron Man just flew right past him. He didn't think that Iron Man saw him since he just kept flying, so Peter continued to swing his way back home. Unfortunately, not even two seconds later, he was landing on top of a building when he noticed Iron Man fly back towards him and pause in the air, just floating there. 

Both of the superheroes froze on the spot, just looking at each other until Iron Man flew away in the direction he was headed before. Peter let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. 

He hoped Tony didn't know it was him. Although there was no way for him to tell because Peter had a mask on and was covered head to toe in his suit, so there was no possible way that Tony knew he was Spider-Man. 

Peter continued to swing back towards his apartment, trying not to freak out too much because he just bumped into Iron Man of all people. 

When he got back home, Peter calmed down enough and pushed up his open bedroom window. He could see the lights on in the hallway, which meant that May must have been home. 

Peter crawled in through the window and stuck himself to the top of his ceiling so he could shut his bedroom door without May hearing him. 

Once he did that, Peter slowly lowered himself to the floor and took his mask off, but just as he did that he turned around and heard a man's voice in the living room. 

No wait, he heard Tony Stark's voice in the living room! 

Peter quickly took off his suit just in case someone walked in on him. He then put on his blue track pants that were the first ones he found on the ground and shoved his head through one of his shirts that had many stains on it from the last movie night he had with May, when they ate ice cream and pizza together. 

His mind was racing for every possible reason as to why Tony was here within his home. Was he in trouble for some reason? Did this visit have to do with his internship? Peter nervously gulped at the thought, the nerves and shock leaving him speechless. 

Peter opened his bedroom door and slowly walked down the short hallway to see Tony Stark sitting with his Aunt on the couch. 

May turned around first and saw him standing there, her expression hardened like it did before she lectured him. Peter inwardly winced when his Aunt spoke up and reprimanded him. "Peter, where have you been? You don't text or call me." 

Peter looked at the ground, fiddling with his hands behind his back. "Sorry, May. I was um, taking a nap." 

Just as Peter looked up, he saw Tony turn his head to look right at Peter with a knowing look that made Peter's stomach sink. "Ah, Mr. Parker! How nice of you to join us." 

Peter didn't know Tony well enough to read the man's facial expressions meant, but he did know it looked like Tony knew something. He gave the man a tiny wave. 

"Mr. Stark is here to see you, Petey. Come sit down," May said as she patted the couch next to her. Just as Peter was about to go sit, Tony spoke. 

"Actually, if it's okay with you, I'd like to speak to the kid alone for five minutes." Tony looked between May and Peter as he waited for May to agree. 

"Yeah, absolutely." 

Peter brought the older man into his bedroom, trying to remember if he put his Spider-Man suit away or just threw it on the floor. Once they were inside Peter's bedroom, Peter quickly looked around the room and went to kick his Spider-Man suit under his bed as Tony shut his door and locked it. 

"So, um, wh-what-what are you doing here?" Peter stuttered out. He couldn't stop playing with his hands, a nervous habit he had since he was a child. 

Tony looked around Peter's bedroom to see if he could try and find anything Spider-Man related. He assumed that the kid hid his suit somewhere in the room after their earlier encounter. 

He wanted so badly to call Peter out right now, but he couldn't do that just yet. Plus, he was still hoping Peter would come to him and tell him the truth after he gained his trust. 

"I'm here to tell you that your internship is official. I came to discuss the terms with your Aunt," Tony said and sat down on one of the chairs in the kid's room. He looked over at the kid's desk and noticed a lot of wires and broken equipment, as though the kid was trying to build something. Tony turned his attention back to Peter, who was smiling really wide. 

Peter felt a weight get lifted off his shoulders when Tony said that. He could not believe he was actually Tony Stark's intern now. "Thank you, Mr. Stark. Thank you. I'm really honoured to have been selected for the position." 

"Yeah, so how bout you tell me what you're working on over here," Tony gestured the desk. Peter looked over and saw what Tony was pointing to and immediately rushed over to stand in front of the work desk to block his view before he figured out anything. 

"Oh, it's - it's nothing," Peter lied. It was, in fact, some new web-shooters that he was working on. The young boy still needed some more parts that he couldn't find anywhere. Maybe he could ask Tony for any spares? 

Tony stood up and walked over to the kid's desk. He picked up a piece that looked like it was missing a few parts, but he still couldn't tell what it was. "Come on, kid. I know you're smart, what are you building?" 

Peter grabbed the piece from Tony's hand and placed it back on his desk. He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't want Tony to see and figure out what he was building. "It's nothing, Mr. Stark. I was just messing around, but I didn't have the proper parts, so I just, never mind." 

"If you need some more parts, I can get them for you," Tony said. He wanted to help the kid the best he could, and if it somehow kept him a little safer out fighting crime, then he would do that. "Just let me know what you need tomorrow during our lab time." 

Tony started to walk out of Peter's bedroom as Peter followed him, "Wait! You mean I can come to the tower tomorrow?" 

"Yep." Tony went to ruffle the kid's hair but stopped himself. "After school, Happy will pick you up. Your Aunt and I have agreed that we should meet at most three times a week."

Peter couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face, "Okay! Thank you, Mr. Stark!" 

"No Problem, Kiddo," Tony said with a soft smile. He didn't want to admit it, but he was excited for coming dawn as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this! I don’t know when the next chapter will be out and I don’t want to make anymore promises I can’t keep but I’m hoping it will be out in two weeks ish :)


	6. Don’t let them know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii guys!! I’m so excited for you guys to read the next chapter but the only thing is that my beta reader is taking her final exams right now so she’s busy studying and isn’t going to have time to edit for a little bit but don’t worry a chapter will come soon enough:) 
> 
> I hope you guys like this!!

Tony was in a bad mood. No scratch that, he was in a horrible mood. 

He couldn't even explain what he was feeling right now and how mad he was at everything and everyone. 

After everything that the Avengers had done to protect everyone, he knew it wasn't enough. Tony wanted to try making the world a safer and better place, but unfortunately, they still messed up at times. 

People got hurt, people died. Innocent and kind people that were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it cost them their lives. Young children and families were separated or killed because of the damage caused by the Avengers when they were kicking ass. 

Tony knew they needed to be put in check. The Avengers couldn't go around fighting battles that they had no business fighting when they were putting innocent lives at risk. 

That's why he wanted to sign the Accords. He believed in the idea, but for some reason, not everyone agreed with him. 

While the Avengers are trying to protect the earth, they are still seen in the eyes of some people as reckless and lawless vigilantes who didn't care about the impact they had. While that may be partly true on some part, Tony still wanted some type of regulation. They needed to be put in check. 

If that meant the Avengers had to sign the Sokovia Accords, then so be it. 

Tony didn't mind if it meant the Avengers would have to agree and act only with the United Nation's consent. Whatever it took to protect the lives of others and to prevent further carnage, Tony recognized that it would do them no good to go against the law. It would be less problematic if the Avengers worked the law on certain situations. 

Tony now sat there while the other Avengers argued and debated amongst themselves on whether or not they should sign the Accords. Tony was for it, and surprisingly Natasha as well. Tony kept a mental note of this moment because it was rare for the spy to agree with him on something. 

Steve, on the other hand, was refusing to sign the Accords. The super soldier was saying some bullshit about how he felt as though the Accords would prohibit them from preventing further casualties because of the interference from politicians. 

Although Tony hated it, he understood why Steve didn't trust the government officials. Steve had stated that some people weren't the most qualified to make decisions or judgements about how to properly handle a situation compared to them. Something about 'the best hands are still our own.' 

Tony wanted to argue more with Steve about this whole Accords signing fiasco, but he got up and announced that he was leaving before anyone got the chance to ask where he was going. 

.  
.  
.

Tony was sitting on a stool with his head in his hands. 

He came down to the lab over two hours ago to get some work done. Still, all Tony could think about right now was the Accords meeting that just happened. He could tell that the team was falling apart and had to remove himself from the scene before his agitation got the best of him. But Tony knew that he had to, once again, fake appearances and act as though everything was alright. 

As a means of distraction, the billionaire's mind wandered towards thoughts of the young spider-themed hero he recently hired. He really wanted to work together with Peter in the labs and had been looking forward to it ever since he made the internship official. Perhaps things would be better once the kid got here. Tony knew that anything at that moment was better than arguing with his Avengers teammates. Peter was going to arrive soon, and Tony wasn't sure if he wanted the kid to see him like this. 

Instead, Tony decided to go upstairs and brew a cup of coffee just to make himself look more alive. 

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.  
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"Peter! Peter, wait up!" Ned yelled as he ran down the hallway to catch up to his best friend. 

Peter turned around and saw Nedrunning towards him, but kept walking because Happy was waiting for him in front of the school. Peter knew that the older man wasn't patient, but the young hero was also incredibly excited to see Mr. Stark again. 

Ned caught up to Peter and grabbed his arm. "Hey! Why did you keep walking after you saw me? Not cool, man." 

"I'm sorry, Ned, but I have to go, and I can't be late," Peter quipped. He didn't want to keep Happy waiting any longer, and now Ned wouldn't let him leave. 

"You've barely spoken to me all day, dude," Ned said sadly. "What are you gonna late for?" 

Peter sighed. He felt guilty because he had been avoiding Ned just a little bit that day. It's not as though he was doing it on purpose. The school day had been particularly busy. In first period, they couldn't talk to each other because there was a test and the boys were not in any other classes together. Then during lunch, Peter told a little white lie to his best friend. He had said that he wanted to head to the library to finish some school assignment, but it was really because Peter wanted to take his suit and go out as Spider-Man for an hour. 

"Sorry, Ned. Tomorrow we're still meeting up to build the new LEGO Death Star set your mom got you right? I promise I'll come by around noon! We can get lunch and then start building it!" Peter said cheerily, hoping that it was enough for Ned to let him go. "But I have to go now, so bye! See you later!" 

Peter felt bad, but that feeling didn't last too long because before he knew it, he was running down the front steps of his school. He immediately spotted the same flashy car that Happy picked him up the other day. 

Just as Peter reached the car, Happy got out and rounded the vehicle so that he could open the door for Peter. 

"Hey, Mr. Happy!" Peter greeted excitedly. Happy mumbled something that Peter couldn't even hear with his super-hearing before opening the back door for him. "Oh, I'm getting in the back again."

Peter felt discouraged as he couldn't sit in the front seat with the former boxer, but he didn't complain. At least Happy actually looked at him with a little less irritation in his eyes this time. 

"Yes and call me Happy," Happy said. Peter just nodded his head and jumped into the backseat. Happy then rounded the car and got in the driver's seat, but he turned around and eyed Peter for a few seconds. "Put your seatbelt on." 

"Oh! Right! Sorry, Mr- Happy" Peter looked down at his lap, feeling his cheeks flush red. He couldn't believe that he had already embarrassed himself in front of the older man right as they got into the car. 

The car ride to the tower was spent in mostly silence. Peter tried to have a conversation with Happy a few times. Still, the older man was evasive and seemed to dislike unwarranted communication. Thankfully, he didn't put the divider up, which Peter thought was an improvement. So maybe Happy was warming up to him, after all.

When they got to the tower, Happy pulled up to the hidden garage. Peter was sure he had never been to this part of the tower before and looked out his window curiously until Happy came and opened the door for him. 

"Wow, Mr. Stark has a lot of cars! Does he drive all of them, or does he have a certain car that he prefers driving?" Peter asked curiously. He couldn't understand why someone would need all these cars, but then again, they were talking about Tony Stark. It was a known fact amongst the public that Tony loved automobiles and owned them as if they were a collection.

Happy pointed to a red Audi that looked as though it was remade. "See that red car right there? That's Tony's favourite. Don't ask me why. I personally think it's ugly, but don't tell him I said that." 

"I won't," Peter said. The younger boy followed Happy toward the elevator. When Peter turned around, he noticed that Happy didn't get in with him, so he looked at him concerned. "Aren't you-"

Happy cut him off. "Nope. FRI, take the kid to Tony." 

With that, the elevator doors closed, leaving Peter all alone. Peter held tightly onto his backpack straps on his shoulders in an attempt to comfort himself. Being alone in an unfamiliar place caused Peter to feel somewhat nervous. 

"Um, hi FRIDAY," Peter said. At least he could talk to Tony's AI and get a figure out what to do from here. 

"Hello, Peter," FRIDAY greeted warmly. "How are you?" 

Peter smiled brightly at her voice. "I'm good! How are you?" 

"I'm good, Peter. Boss is waiting for you on the penthouse floor," FRIDAY said kindly as the elevator began to accelerate. Peter thought that he would immediately head to Tony's private lab, so he wasn't sure why they were meeting elsewhere.

Peter still wasn't over the fact that he was an official intern working under Tony Stark. The whole tower fascinated him, and the young boy was excited to be there again. Peter knew he'd seen Tony's residential floor before, but it was still cool to him. 

When the elevator doors open, Peter stepped out and looked around hesitantly. The young intern didn't see Tony anywhere, so he ventured further into the living space. He didn't want to appear rude by unknowingly invading the man's personal space, but he was definitely lost. 

Just when Peter was about to ask FRIDAY for some direction, he heard a voice behind him. He turned around to see Tony holding a steaming cup of what he assumed was coffee. 

"Ah, Peter! Come here, how was school?" Tony asked, excitedly as he approached his new intern from the kitchen. 

Peter felt a bit of surprise, but a smile still broke across his face. He then began wondering why his Spidey sense never warned him about Mr. Stark's presence. The younger hero's spidey senses usually alerted him if someone was behind him. So far, his Aunt May was the only person who hadn't caused his senses to go off. Peter just guessed it was because he trusted May and knew she wouldn't hurt him. 

But Peter's senses still went off whenever Ned approached him from behind. He knew Ned wouldn't hurt him, but he didn't understand why his Spidey senses didn't go off around Mr. Stark when he had known Ned for longer. It was weird. 

Despite Peter's internal debate with himself, he started walking towards Tony anyways. "Hi, Mr. Stark! School was good. It went by slow, though, which was kinda annoying, but at least I'm here now! I had a test first period, so I was half asleep, but I think I did well on it anyways. Happy brought me into your garage, and I saw all your cars! He said the red one is your favourite, but apparently he thinks it's ugly. I mean, it still looks real ..." 

Peter covered his mouth once he realized what he said. He told Happy he wouldn't tell Tony. "Oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Don't tell him I told you!"

Tony couldn't help but laugh at Peter's slip up. He had no idea how Peter managed to tell him five different things in the span of one sentence. How on earth had the kid managed to keep Spider-Man a secret when he was so talkative? Tony had no idea. 

"What? Happy told you he thinks my Iron Man car is ugly?! How rude of him," Tony chuckled. He already knew about Happy's personal opinions on his car but decided to try and make Peter laugh, anyway. Peter's reaction to the joke was funny. 

"What?! Seriously? It's an Iron Man car? Is it because it's red?" Peter asked skeptically as he didn't see how the car was supposed to be an Iron Man car. 

Tony put his hand on his heart, pretending to be hurt. "Really, kid? I'm hurt that you didn't see it." 

Peter's eyes widened, "Oh! I'm sorry, Mr. Stark! I think - I think it's a really awesome looking Iron Man car!" 

"Relax, kid" Tony held up his hands, "I'm just messing with you. What do you want to eat?" 

Peter looked between Tony and the elevator doors. He thought that they would head to the lab next, but guessed that this was probably better than going straight down there first. He wouldn't argue with the billionaire since he was beginning to feel hungry anyway. 

"Um, I don't know," Peter shrugged his shoulders and held onto his backpack straps tighter. 

Tony didn't like how the kid clearly felt uncomfortable and acted like someone was about to rob him if he put down his backpack. The way Peter was holding onto the bag was like he had a pot of gold in there- wait! Tony suddenly realized that the kid most likely brought his Spider-Man suit with him. 

Tony really wanted to take a look at that thing and examine it, but he knew better than to do so.

"You can put your backpack down and come sit. I promise you, no one will touch your bag, okay?" Tony opened the fridge to pour Peter some apple juice since he remembered Peter saying it was his favourite beverage. He also bought a bunch of food the kid might like, so his fridge and cabinets looked like some kind of kids' food aisle threw up in there. 

Peter slowly took his backpack off and leaned in against the kitchen island on the floor. He then took off his jacket and sat on the stool. 

"What will it be? I'm actually a pretty decent cook, so...," Tony shrugged his shoulders, which got a laugh out of Peter. 

"I find that hard to believe," Peter said. He hoped Tony wouldn't get mad at him for saying that, but he liked how he could joke around with Tony. 

"Alright, kid. I see how it is. Let's put it to the test then," Tony suggested. Peter didn't say what he wanted to eat, so the older man would have to find another way around it. "I'll make you a grilled cheese. Sound good?" 

Peter nodded his head, so Tony got to cooking. They continued talking back and forth. After the grilled cheese was made, Tony placed it in front of Peter alongside a glass of apple juice. 

"Thanks, Mr. Stark, but do you have ketchup?" Peter felt embarrassed about asking for ketchup and grilled cheese, he preferred eating the sandwich that way.

Tony gave him a weird look but got him the bottle of ketchup anyways. "Tell me what you think-"

Tony cut himself off because his phone started ringing. Peter watched as he pulled it out of his pocket and rolled his eyes at his phone. "I'll be right back. Eat your food." 

Peter watched Tony walk away and tried to listen to the conversation. He knew he shouldn't be, but he couldn't help himself sometimes. 

"I told you not to call me right now because I'm busy," Tony said with a tone that was clearly vexed. "This better be good or else I'm hanging up." 

Tony then stepped into the other room and Peter couldn't hear the conversation anymore. He wondered who was on the other side of the phone call since Tony seemed really upset about it. 

Peter continued eating in silence. The food was actually delicious, and he wanted to thank Tony, but the man had disappeared. He was gone for over fifteen minutes, which worried Peter as he wondered where the billionaire went. He finished off the grilled cheese, leaving behind only the crust and a bit of apple juice. He left the plate by the sink. Just as he was about to go look for Tony, the latter walked back into the kitchen, looking very annoyed. 

Tony's hair was a mess, and Peter guesses it's because he ran his hand through his hair so much out of frustration from the phone call. 

Peter wasn't sure what to say. "Um, the grilled cheese was good. Thank you. I can wash the dishes since you cooked."

Tony ran his hand through his hair again and took a calming breath before looking over at Peter. "Ah, it's fine. I see you left your plate by the sink, so we'll wash it later. You liked it? I'm getting better at making them." 

Peter looked down at his lap and played with his hands. He wasn't sure what to do or say because Mr. Stark was evidently stressed about something. Even though Peter really wanted to know what was going on, he knew it wasn't his place to ask.

Still, his childish side curiosity got the best of him, anyways. "Um, who was on the phone? Are you mad at them?" 

Tony looked over at Peter and smiled weakly. He debated telling Peter about the phone call and informing him about the Accords, but he wasn't sure if he should. 

He knew he shouldn't be bringing a child into this whole mess even though Spider-Man would be really helpful right now at a time like this. 

If only Peter could tell him about his secret, then Tony could have Natasha get off his ass. He wanted her to stop calling him to say that they were understaffed and that they needed someone. Tony knew Spider-Man could shut her up, but he didn't want to bring Peter into this. He wouldn't involve Peter in this mess. 

Tony waved his hand off carelessly before responding. "It's nothing, kid. How about we go down to the lab, and I'll show you how to decode some stuff." 

Peter nodded his head excitedly, completely forgetting about how stressed Tony was just minutes before because he wanted so badly to go down and work with Tony. 

.  
.  
.

They had been working in the lab together for a few hours now. 

Tony's not sure how many hours had passed but figured they must have been down there too long because his phone was going off every twenty minutes or so. He refused to answer it though since right now, he wanted to spend his time with the kid. 

"Okay… hold this wire right here," Tony instructed. Currently, the genius was standing over Peter as he showed him how to weld two wires together that would be used to upgrade a part of the Iron Man armour. Peter didn't know that yet, however. 

"This one?" Peter asked. Tony guided his hand over to the right one. 

"Okay, good. Now move your other hand and hold these two together," Tony advised. He was surprised at how quickly Peter picked up on this. Sure, Tony had been mostly guiding Peter and teaching him how to weld correctly, but that was only because he didn't want Peter hurting himself. He had to pay attention and prevent any more accidents happening around the kid.

He could do better than his dad. Howard Stark was generally inexorable and frequently became angered when Tony didn't get something right the first time. 

"I think I did it right?" Peter asked. He liked it when Mr. Stark complimented him, and he really enjoyed the challenge. At school, Peter flew through the lessons because it was rather easy for him, but what Mr. Stark taught him was complicated and fun. 

"You're doing amazing, just move your hand and watch this green wire or you'll burn your hand," Tony gently moved Peter's hand back from the wire, but then his phone started going off again. "Okay, now connect these alternating wires and give me a sec. I have to answer this." 

Peter continued quietly, welding the wires the way that Tony instructed him to. He looked over at Tony, who sighed once again after he saw who was calling him and put the phone to his ear. 

"Nat, you can't keep calling me. I told you I'm busy right now-"

Tony stopped talking and sighed irritably to the other person who had cut him off. Peter's brows rose in slight shock at the mention of the name 'Nat.' The infamous Black Widow was calling Mr. Stark?

"No, I know that," Tony walked back over to Peter to see how he was doing with the wires and moved his hand a bit as he spoke into the phone. "I honestly don't give a FU - Uhm two craps about how it's gotta be done, just do it!" 

Peter was listening in on the conversation and trying to put it together, which was difficult when he wasn't able to hear the other side of the conversation. This concerned Peter a bit because he generally heard the other side of people's phone calls. It's what he did on the bus when he was bored. 

Tony walked back over to the desk and leaned against it. He looked over at Peter, who was looking at him, but Peter didn't look away as he put down the tools. He found it odd how Tony didn't leave the room like last time, but he figured it was because Tony probably didn't trust him to be in the lab alone. 

"Alright. Yeah, yeah. Tell Capsical to sign the damn Accords, and we can get on with our merry way," Tony retorted before he hung up the phone. The billionaire put his head back in his hands for a moment before making his way over to Peter. He looked over at Peter's work and went to adjust some of the wires in the awkward silence.

Peter tried to keep his mouth shut as they got back to work, but he just couldn't. "What's the Accords?"

Tony paused what he was doing with the wires but continued. He debated what he should say, but Peter had already heard the conversation, so he couldn't simply avoid the topic. "Uh, it's this… this agreement that the Avengers have to sign, but some people don't want to sign it." 

Peter turned his head so fast to look at Tony that he almost hit the man in the head. "Wait, what?! Like the actual Avengers?! What agreement are they making you sign?! Is it about some top-secret Avengers mission?!" 

Tony sat down on the stool next to Peter so he could actually look at his face without standing over him. "Let go of the wires and look at me, kid." Peter stopped what he was doing and looked over at Tony. "No." 

"What? But you totally were," Peter whined. He really wanted to hear more about the Avengers. "I promise I won't tell anyone." 

Tony eyed the kid in an exasperated manner. He could see right through him. "Oh, I believe you. Just like how Happy believed you when you promised him you wouldn't tell me what he said about my car." 

Peter sunk in on himself. Tony smirked as he was just messing with him, but he didn't mean to hurt the kid's feelings. 

"I'm sorry. Don't tell him I told you, okay?" Peter asked.

"I won't, but I'm just messing with you, kid," Tony chuckled before he looked away from Peter and started messing with the wires himself. "Look, it's complicated, and I don't expect you to understand. But basically, we're supposedly understaffed, and good ol'Steve-O is a complete idiot." 

Peter's eyes went wide. "Steve as in-as in Captain America?!" 

Tony eyed Peter. 

"Sorry," Peter apologized, looking down. 

Peter then thought about Tony's second point. He said that they were understaffed, meaning that they need someone else with superhuman abilities to possibly fight some bad guys. Peter has that! He debated internally about telling Tony about his secret. 

He's actually surprised that he's never told Tony yet because he trusts the man but still. He knew he couldn't tell Tony or let anyone else find out his secret. Peter decided against telling Tony because it could endanger those who knew. 

Tony eyes, Peter, wondering what the kid was thinking. He also had an internal struggle with what he should do about the whole situation because he knew that Peter would be a great addition to the team, but he didn't want to drag a kid into this problem. After all, the kid was still just that. A kid. A child.

Just then, FRIDAY spoke up. "Boss, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff and Colonel Rhodes are entering the tower and request to speak with you." 

"Fuck," Tony cursed. He tried so hard not to swear in front of an impressionable kid like Peter, but he couldn't help himself. 

One thing was for certain. Tony couldn't let them see Peter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I hope you guys liked that!! Idkkk when the next chapter will be up but hopefully it’ll be soon:))


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still alive!! It’s been so long since I’ve posted but I’m back:)))

Peter didn’t know why Tony was freaking out so much. All he knew was that apparently Captain America, Black Widow and Mr. Stark's best friend, War Machine is coming into the tower to talk to Tony about something that Peter guesses has to do with the signing of the Accords. 

He doesn’t understand why Tony is freaking out so much. 

“Okay, kid. Come here” Tony waved him over from where he was standing by the elevator. Peter was confused but made his way over to where Tony was standing anyways. Once Peter was in reach, Tony grabbed him by the arm and pulled him closer to himself. “I have to go talk to these idiots and they can’t see you so Happy's gonna drive you home” 

Peter tried to pull out of Tony’s grip and go back into the lab because he just got here and he doesn’t want to leave just yet but the elevator doors closed, so he stopped struggling. He wants to stay until it at least got dark outside but it was still so early. “No. Why can’t I stay here?” 

Tony sighed. He pressed the button for the garage and pulled out his phone to text Happy to meet them down there. “Because, Peter… it’s grown up talk, okay?” 

Peter crossed his arms and followed Tony out of the elevator into the garage after the doors opened. “I’m a grown up” 

Tony stopped walking and turned around to look at Peter almost causing the kid to bump into his back. “Hmm come tell me again after you start shaving, kid” 

“Hey!” Peter went to argue more but Happy got out of the other elevator and walked over to them. 

“Hap, I need you to take the kid home because some idiots are here to talk to me” Tony quickly explained. Happy looked concerned which one who didn’t know the man would think it’s annoyance. 

“Do you want me to come up with you?” Happy asked. He knew how much Tony hated talking with Steve. “Don’t worry I’ll still keep my eye on the kid” 

Tony thought about it but he didn’t want Peter anywhere near them. “No, just bring him home” 

Tony went to open the back door to get Peter out of here faster but Peter stopped him. “Wait! My-my backpack is still upstairs! I left it” 

Peter started to panic because there’s no way he can leave without his backpack. What is someone looked inside? What is Tony looked inside? 

“It’s okay, I’ll drop it off at your house later tonight, alright?” Tony suggested. He didn’t want to risk Peter going up to get it and if he went up he’s pretty sure everybody else already made their way to his floor and are just waiting for him and if Happy went up then Tony didn’t want Peter to wait here alone so he’s just gonna have to drop it off at Peter’s apartment tonight. 

“No. Please. I want it now and-and I have my important homework in there. So important, Mr. Stark. Please” Peter tried to give Tony his best puppy dog eyes because he needs his backpack with his suit inside but it didn’t work on Tony. 

“Sorry, kid” Tony looked back at Happy and silently told him to get in the car in case Peter made a run for it. “I’ll drop it off later, yeah? Put your seatbelt on. Bye” 

Tony made sure to put the child lock on the car door before he shut it. He felt bad because Peter struggled to open the door again and he hopes Peter doesn’t hate him after this but he couldn’t risk getting the kids backpack for him right now. 

Tony didn’t wait for Happy to drive off since he was already in the elevator and making his way upstairs to talk to everyone. 

When he stepped out of the elevator he immediately spotted Rhodey sitting on one of the kitchen stools. He walked further into the room and then saw Natasha leaning against the stove next to Steve. 

“So nice of you guys to let yourselves in” Tony announced himself. He hated them all so much for forcing their way into his floor and making the kid leave early. “Care for some water, coffee… juice?” 

Steve glared at Tony. “No, Tony. We didn’t come here to have a picnic, we came here to talk to you” 

“I’ll have some juice please” Rhodey said. Tony opened the fridge and grabbed the grape juice because the apple juice is Peter’s and he doesn’t want to use it all up on him, even if he can order more within the hour… Tony still grabs the grape juice and pours Rhodey a glass. 

“Good choice, Rhoes. Nat?” Tony handed Rhodey the glass and turned to Nat, ignored Steve’s sigh. 

“Tony, can you be serious for half a second please?” Steve begged. Tony loved getting the man annoyed because it was so easy but he was finding that he wasn’t enjoying it so much right now. 

“I can be whatever you want me to be, Steve-”

“Tony! Listen to me, I’m not signing the Accords and you know why” Steve said. “I told you already and I’m not having this conversation again with you” 

“Then why’d you come here?” Tony asked. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter “Did you think that I would change my mind? Because I’m not” 

“Look, Tony,” Natasha cut in. “We just came to talk to you about this again. I’m on your side but you don’t have to act this way with the team, you know-“

“Did you just say you’re on my side?” Tony cut her off to ask. He knew he was trying to stop himself from going off on everyone in the room. “Because I know what I heard and let me just say wow. First time for everything, right” 

Steve pulled out his phone and read a message. He quickly turned around to walk back towards the elevator, leaving everyone standing there confused. “I gotta go” 

“Well then. That went better than I expected” Tony looked over at the counter where Peter’s plate and glass still was. He could see the kids backpack on the floor and his jacket thrown across the stool. Tony looked over at Natasha who followed his eyes, seeing Peter’s stuff as well then she looked at Tony and gave him a knowing look. Tony looked away from her. “I’m gonna get myself a coffee now so you guys can go” 

“I gotta go anyways” Rhodey announced. “I have a meeting in an hour, see ya Tones” 

“Bye honey bear” Tony called out to Rhodey. He knew what conversation was coming out of Natasha as soon as the elevator doors closed. If only his coffee would hurry up. 

“How old is he?” Natasha asked. Ah there it is. 

Tony quickly took a sip of coffee and turned around to lean against the counter. “Rhodey? He’s two years older than me so he’s-”

“No. Your kid. How old is he?” Natasha asked seriously. Tony was not expecting her to ask that. 

“I don’t have a kid, Nat” 

“Then why’s there a plate with nothing but crusts left, a glass that had apple juice in it and your fridge looks like Mary Poppins just stopped by” Natasha turned to look at Tony seriously and Tony knows that she’s not joking and that she actually thinks he has a kid because she never looks at him like that. She never looks at anyone like that. “Tony, you know you can trust me right?” 

Tony isn’t so sure who he can trust right now. “I don’t know why you automatically think I have a kid just because I don’t like crust and I like to drink apple juice. Rhodey just drank grape juice” 

“Yeah only because you offered him juice” She reasoned. “You never have juice in your fridge never mind yogurt tube things and applesauce” 

Tony knew he had been caught. Natashas too good of a spy for him to get out of this. The only thing is, he doesn’t have a kid because Peter’s not his so he doesn’t know how to explain this. 

Natasha took his silence as trying to come up with more excuses so she reached across the table and grabbed the plate and glass. “Here. Because your kid won’t. How old is he anyways?” 

Tony put the plate and cup in the sink and rolled his eyes. He was not having this conversation right now. Or ever. 

“He’s not anything age because he doesn’t exist” Tony said just as Natasha reached over and grabbed Peter’s jacket and backpack from off the floor. 

“Oh yeah. So did you also recently develop a weird habit where you like to wear children’s clothes that are too small for you and carry around backpacks as well then” Natasha held up Peter’s jacket and Tony tried so hard not to grab it from her because he didn’t want her to think anything of it. “I’m guessing maybe he’s about ten maybe eleven years old” 

Tony was about to say that that was a horrible guess because Peter is in fact fourteen and that jacket looks like it’s made for a fourteen year old not a ten year old but then he figures out that that’s exactly why she said that. So he’ll feel the need to correct her and blow who Peter is. 

“Nope. Try a man in his forties who also happens to be Iron Man” Tony then reaches out a grabs the jacket from Natasha. 

Natasha laughed. “That jacket won’t even fit your arm if you tried to put it on” 

Just as Natasha was about to open up Peter’s backpack, Tony panics because he promised the kid that no one will go inside. He goes to grab it from her but she moves too quickly. 

Tony holds up his hands because he has to say something before she opens the backpack. “Alright! Alright. Fine, I’ll tell you how old he is if you hand it over” 

Natasha eyes him but hands over the backpack anyways. Tony sighs. “He’s fourteen” 

“Is he yours?” 

Tony doesn’t want to answer. He doesn’t know what to answer. If he says yes and lies then that would just create more questions and problems but if he says no then there would be no other way to explain why there’s a fourteen year old boy hanging out with him. 

Just as Tony is about to answer his phone rings. Perfect timing. “Hello?” 

“I just dropped the kid off, Boss, but he wants his backpack back and told me to tell you that you promised no one would look inside so he wants you to remember that promise, I don’t know what he’s getting at” It was Happy. Tony looked down at the backpack and coat. He knew what was in that backpack but he wouldn’t be looking inside. 

“Alright. I won’t but it doesn’t matter anyways. Thanks, Hap” Tony hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. He looked at Natasha’s threatening stare but he shrugged it off. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to be somewhere” 

As Tony walked away from Natasha, holding the kids backpack and jacket in his hands, he ignored the knowing look that she was giving him and stepped into the elevator. 

.  
.  
.

As Peter stood in the elevator in his apartment building, he couldn’t stop his leg from shaking up and down and the nervousness that ran through his body. 

All he could think about was that Tony was going to look inside his backpack and find his Spider-Man homemade suit and know the truth. Or maybe even worse, someone else would look inside, see his suit and possibly put it in the washing machine or throw it out. 

Peter walked out of the elevator when the doors opened and started walking to his door. His knees felt like giving out and he was beyond scared about what was gonna happen. He knew he shouldn’t have ever brought his suit with him to school that day. 

When Peter got to his front door he remembered that his key was in his backpack so he started to knock on the door, hoping that Aunt May was home from work. 

She opened the door a few seconds later but all Peter could smell was something burning. 

“Hey, Peter” Aunt May said as Peter stepped in. “I didn’t expect you to be home so early. What happened with Mr. Stark?” 

Peter walked into the apartment and walked towards the kitchen where there was a burnt pan of something. “I Uh, he had to do stuff. I don’t know” 

May put gloves back on and continued to clean out the oven. “Aw, Peter. It’s okay, you know he’s a busy man so it’s expected” 

Peter sighed and sat at the kitchen counter while he watched May clean out the oven. He would have helped her but he knew he wasn’t allowed to touch the stove or the oven under any circumstances after he almost burnt down the apartment a few months ago. 

“Yeah, I know. I left my backpack and jacket there” Peter said as he kicked his legs back and forth on the chair. 

May stopped her cleaning to look over at her nephew. “Peter. You better get your backpack back because I’m not buying you another one. You gotta be more responsible with you stuff, honey” 

“I am responsible but Mr. Stark rushed me out so I couldn’t grab it” Peter’s voice went high pitched at the end of his sentence so he cleared his throat and looked at the counter like it was the most interesting thing in the whole world. 

May stood up and leaned against the stove. “You lost three backpack in one month, Peter. Now I’m not saying that you aren’t responsible at all. Just not with keeping track of your backpacks. Call Mr. Stark and tell him to give it back to you because I’m not buying another one” 

“I don’t have his number” Peter said sadly and May regretted saying that so she tried to brush it off. 

“Okay then can you call Happy and tell him” May walked towards her nephew to give him a kiss on the head but she smelled him and he smelled… weird. “And go take a shower you smell like… metal. Or something. I don’t know just go shower” 

Peter sighed and moved to stand up. “That’s because I was working with Mr. Stark in the lab with wires and electromagnets. It was so cool, May!” 

May smiled. She loved seeing Peter happy over something since it’s been so long since she’s really seen him so happy. 

“I’m glad you had fun, baby. Hopefully you can go back soon” May really hoped that Peter would be going back to the tower because it was nice to see him this excited even if it’s only been a few days. 

Peter quickly went into the shower to wash up and then he jumped out and dried off before going into his bedroom and changing into a comfy sweater and track pants. 

Usually he would have went out as Spider-Man or done his homework but he couldn’t do any of those things because he didn’t have his backpack and that was worrying him every minute that passed and he doesn’t have his backpack. 

Peter sat down at his desk and put his headphones into his ears as he began playing around with some of his web shooters on his desk. 

May had almost finished cleaning out the oven when there was a knock at the door. 

She stood up to go open it and was not expecting to see no one other than Tony Stark. 

“Oh Mr. Stark” May stepped aside to let the man in. “Please, come in” 

“Thanks but call me Tony” Tony stepped into the warm apartment and looked around for a certain curly headed boy. When he didn’t immediately see him he turned to look at May. “I brought Pete’s backpack and jacket. Something came up last minute so I had to have Happy drive him home” 

May sighed in relief as she saw him holding Peter’s backpack. She did not want to have to buy yet another backpack for Peter. 

“Where is he?” Tony asked. He knew Peter wasn’t out as Spider-Man because he had his suit. 

“He’s in his room. You can go give it to him if you want, I’m sure he’ll appreciate that” May offered and Tony immediately nodded his head and went to the kids room. He knocked on the door but there wasn’t an answer so he knocked again. There still wasn’t an answer so he opened his bedroom door and stepped into the room. 

He saw that Peter had his back to him and was doing something on his desk. Tony wanted to try to see what the kid was doing but when he stepped further into the bedroom, Peter looked over at him and jumped in his chair at seeing the man. 

“Oh you scared me!” Peter said as he let out a small laugh and put his hand over his heart. 

“Sorry. I just came to bring your backpack and jacket” Tony held up the items and tried to look at what the kid was doing on his desk. There were tiny shredded wires everywhere and a bunch of metal scraps. 

Peter immediately stood up and went to grab his backpack from Tony. “Thank you! I got lots of homework and stuff.” Peter looked away as he asked the question. “Did you Uh, you didn’t look inside, did you?” 

Tony wanted to laugh at how obvious this kid made it, if he didn’t already know Peter was Spider-Man, he would have never looked inside the backpack but the fact that Peter made a huge deal about him not looking in the bag would have made him actually look inside the bag. 

Tony shook his head and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. “No, I said I wouldn’t look in your bag so I didn’t. Now tell me what you’re building over there” 

Tony wanted so desperately to open it and pull the suit out to see how Peter did it. If he had adhesive gloves and shoes and how he made the webs but he didn’t. He wanted to keep his word to the kid. 

Peter let out a sigh of relief and put his bag on his bed. “I Uh, um, it’s n-nothing really. I was just messing around with some stuff” 

Tony stepped closer to the kids desk and looked at some of the stuff he was building. Everything looked broken but it looked like Peter wanted it that way so he didn’t know what the kid was trying to build. 

“Looks more than messing around with stuff” Tony observed and picked up a piece of shredded wire attached to a charging conductor. Tony was impressed with it, the kid looked like he knew what he was doing but there were a few missing parts. “You’re trying to attach these wires to this cable but you’re missing the attacher” 

Peter stepped closer to Tony and picked up a broken blue piece of plastic. “Yeah, I tried to but Aunt May got mad when I tried to take apart the toaster last weekend” 

Tony let out a laugh. “Kid, you don’t need to take apart your Aunts toaster when you have me. I’ll get you the parts that you need if you tell me what you’re trying to build” 

Peter tried to hide his smile at what Tony just said but he couldn’t tell him what he was trying to build because it involved his Spider-Man suit so he didn’t say anything. 

Tony sat down on Peter’s desk chair and crossed his arms. “Fine, kid. You don’t have to tell me but I’ll still get you the stuff so tell me what you need” 

Peter looked at Tony and beamed. “Really?! Are you serious?” 

“Yeah, just tell me” Tony waved Peter off even though he loved how excited this kid got. It was so refreshing to see. 

Peter started talking about everything that he needed and eventually that led to him talking more about what he was trying to build but Tony noticed that he was careful not to give anything away. 

May walked into Peter’s bedroom and leaned against the doorframe so both males couldn’t see her. She listened to their conversation for a few seconds with Peter talking a mile a minute about something that May didn’t understand but Tony looked to be fully invested in the conversation. 

Peter started laughing about something Tony said and he threw his head back and held onto his stomach with his left hand and the sight almost made May cry. It’s been months since she’s seen Peter do his belly laugh and she missed it so much. 

That’s when Peter looked up at her in the doorway. “May, I didn’t see you there. Me and Mr. Stark were talking about how one time in college he almost set his dorm room on fire” 

May laughed weakly. “Hmm kinda like what you did the other day with my toaster. Don’t you go give my kid any ideas now, Mr. Stark” 

Tony laughed as he stood up. “I wouldn’t dream of it but I should get going now anyways” 

Both adults didn’t miss the way Peter’s smile fell a bit but then he put a fake smile on his face and nodded his head. “O-okay. Thanks for bringing my bag back for me” 

“No problem, kid. Have fun in school tomorrow” Tony said as they all walked out of Peter’s bedroom and into the hallway. 

Peter wanted to ask when he could go to the tower again but he decided not to. He didn’t want to make Tony feel like he had to invite him over plus Peter knew that Tony probably didn’t even like to work in the lab with some random kid when he could work alone. 

Tony resisted the urge to ruffle the kids hair before he said his goodbyes again and left. 

.  
.  
.

Peter had snuck out as Spider-Man as soon as Tony left. 

He told May he was tired and that he wanted to go to bed early so after he said his Goodnites he was off. 

It had been a quiet night for the most part. Peter helped an old lady up her steps of her house and stopped a mugging from happening on a women in an alleyway. He also watched a little boy walk home from wherever he was coming from because it was late and dark out and he had no idea where the kids parents were but he wanted to make sure the boy got home safely. 

He had been sitting on a rooftop thinking about his day with Tony in the lab. Peter was a bit concerned about how everything ended and how he had to leave so suddenly. 

Peter didn’t know much but he did know what Tony had told him about this thing called the Accords and it sounded really serious. He could also tell that Tony was really upset and stressed about the whole thing. 

Peter wanted to help out but he didn’t know how. 

He knew that they were understaffed, whatever that meant and whatever that led to. Peter wanted to help out, if there was a way that he, Spider-Man, could help out then Peter needed to at least try to help. 

The only problem was that he still didn’t want Tony to know that he was Spider-Man. He had to keep that a secret because if he didn’t then Tony would for sure tell Aunt May and take that away from him and Peter just couldn’t risk that. 

He had to think of another way to help out without his identity getting out. 

Peter sat up and started to run on the rooftop of the building before jumping off the edge and shooting out a web, catching himself. 

He always thought better when he was swinging through buildings anyways. 

.  
.  
.

On the way back to his tower, Tony couldn’t help but think about Spider-Man. 

He didn’t expect Peter to have told him about it yet but at the same time he was expecting it. He wanted Peter to have already told him so he could ask all his questions that he has been dying to ask the kid as well as everything else. 

Tony knew not to ruin the kids trust that he was trying so hard to build right now but he was starting to really regret not looking in the backpack. 

If he could only have taken a look at the suit then he could try and rebuild a much better, more advanced one for the kid instead of that cheap homemade thing he’s been wearing around. 

Tony then thought about the Accords and how they were understaffed and how Spider-Man could definitely add to the team. 

That would be risky though because Tony knows that he can’t just openly ask Peter about it without making it obvious that he knows so he’ll have to find another way around it. 

That is why Tony found himself in his Iron Man suit, flying over Queens at 9pm at night time just hoping that Peter decided to take his suit out. He guessed that the kid would have since he never got to do it right after school but he’s still not sure. 

Tony then spots a red and blue small figure swinging through the buildings. He flies down closer to the kid and watches as he swings between the buildings so gracefully. He then flies over him so that Peter has to stop himself from swinging right into the new obstacle in his way. 

“What the-” Peter yells as he has to let himself fall a couple feet to avoid hitting freaking Iron Man who just happened to randomly show up. 

Peter lands on top of a rooftop and tries not to freak out. He knows that Tony promised not to look in his backpack and he didn’t, right? There’s no way that Iron Man is here because Tony looked in his bag and saw the suit and now knows the truth. No. No way. 

Tony lands his suit on top of the random building with a thud. He has to play this cool so he doesn’t let anything go and so he doesn’t scare the kid who is slowly moving away from him like he’s about to get beaten with a shovel. 

Tony stood out of the suit and starts walking closer to Spider-Man. “Ah, it’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve been watching videos of you on YouTube for some time now” 

Peter stops backing away from Tony and has to stop the sudden gasp that leaves his mouth when Mr. Stark steps out of the suit. He listens to the man talk and thinks that maybe Tony doesn’t actually know who he is. 

Tony continues when Peter doesn’t say anything. “I think it’s pretty amazing what you do, you know, the whole helping the little guy thing. Staying close to the ground.” Tony stops himself and laughs ironically. “Well, not close to the ground considering that we’re on top of a rooftop right now but I flew up here while you… swung? May I ask how Uh, what do I call you?” 

Peter tried not to let the relief show on his body because Tony didn’t actually know that he was Spider-Man after all. 

He took an awkward step towards Tony. “S-Spider-Man.” Peter cleared his throat to make it sound deeper because it sounded way too much like a twelve year old boy never mind a fourteen year old one when he was trying to give the impression of an at least twenty-five year old. “I’m Spider-Man.” 

“Nice to meet you Spider-Man.” Tony tried not to smile because he could totally tell the kid was trying to make his voice go deeper and that just gave him the perfect idea for when he builds the kid a new suit. I’m assuming you already know who I am so I’m just gonna get down to business and tell you why I stalked you to this rooftop at nine at night” 

Peter nodded his head. He was a bit scared as to what Tony was about to say to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked that and I’m sorry it took over a month to post


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh I’m so happy to be posting every week again! I want to fall in love with this story again and I haven’t written it for awhile so I’m gonna go write it now and it’ll be hard at first but I’m excited:)

Peter listened to what Tony had to say as he tried to keep his leg to stop shaking from the anticipation. 

Tony began explaining. “The Avengers have been told to sign this thing called the Accords. It’s a legislation set out by the UN but some of the Averages don’t want to sign it.” 

Tony paused as he started walking closer to Peter but stopped walking when the kid took a step back. He continued again. “The Avengers are falling apart and we are way understaffed but we could use someone like you. Someone with your skills and abilities, we can use it. You can help us so if you’re up for it, we could use your help, Spidey. Have you ever been to Germany?”

Peter was trying to process everything that Mr. Stark was telling him right now. He had no idea that helping out would require him going to Germany. This whole night he had been thinking of a way to secretly ask Tony if he could help out without ruining his identity and now here Mr. Stark was standing in front of him and asking for help but Peter wasn’t sure if he wanted to help out now. 

Now, it just all seemed so real and scary and he wasn’t sure he was ready for all that just yet. 

“I can’t” Peter said. He didn’t make his voice go deeper because there wasn’t any deeper. This was it so he just hoped that Tony didn’t notice and put the pieces together. 

“You can’t? Why can’t you?” Tony asked. He was not expecting that. 

Peter didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know how to explain the fact that he can’t help out with this whole thing, he thought he could but now it’s all too much. 

He doesn’t even know how to explain to Mr. Stark that he’s too young to get on a plane without any parental signature or the fact that he doesn’t even have a passport because he’s never even been on a plane before. 

Peter took a few steps away from Tony and tried to make himself look taller but he knew it wasn’t really working. 

“I have to take care of Queens” Peter said. He spoke in a low voice in hopes that Tony wouldn’t recognize it. 

Tony crossed his arms and took a step closer to Peter. He was honestly expecting Peter to be jumping at this opportunity, not turning him down. 

Tony wasn’t about to blackmail Peter or force him into coming to Germany with him and the other Avengers to fight a battle that’s not even his but he was desperate. He needed something for Peter to agree to this. 

“I’ll make you a new suit so you’re not running around in your onesie anymore” Tony said, making hand gestures to Peter’s current Spider-Man suit. 

Truth is, Tony was already going to be making Peter a new suit whether he decides to come or not. He didn’t want the kid fighting crime in Queens in nothing but his pyjamas. It wasn’t safe. 

Tony had already had FRIDAY scan the kid for his height and size measurements when he came to the lab a few days ago just so he had something to work off of. 

Peter’s eyes widened behind his mask. A new suit. He had been trying to update his suit now for weeks but nothing seemed to be working with his limited tools available and now Mr. Stark was going to make him a new suit just at the price of fighting one little fight in Germany. 

Peter tried to ignore the fact that Mr. Stark just called his suit a onesie because that was rude so he had to say something. “It’s not a onesie” 

Tony uncrossed his arms. “What do you say…? I’ll make you a new suit if you come to Germany” 

A million thoughts ran through Peter’s head before he found himself nodding. 

“Okay. I’ll go but on one condition,” Peter held up his finger to show Mr. Stark he was serious. 

“Go for it” Tony had an idea what Peter wanted. 

“My mask stays on at all times and you can’t ask me any questions about myself” Peter would only be going if he could continue to keep his identity a secret. 

Tony nodded. He expected that. “Keeping it professional. I like it. You have yourself a deal, Spider-Man” 

Tony reached his hand out for Peter to shake it to conclude their deal but also so he could get a good look at his gloves and touch what the material feels like to see if it’s adhesive. 

As Peter shook his hand, Tony tried to have a feel for the material but also he noticed how small the kids hand was and it made Tony wonder if he would have noticed that if he didn’t already know that Spider-Man was in fact a fourteen year old child. 

Peter let go of the handshake and swung his arms awkwardly. “So when will I talk to you again about going to Uh, Germany and everything?” 

Tony already started stepping back into his suit as he answered. “No need to worry. I’ll find you when I need to talk to you. Bye Spider-Man” 

As Peter watched Iron Man fly off, he couldn’t help but smile to himself. 

Now he had to figure out how he was going to trick May into signing a document to let him get on an airplane without Mr. Stark finding out that he’s underage. 

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Peter woke up on Saturday morning a lot earlier than he would have liked to. 

His head was pounding from staying out last night way too late. He was going to go home but while he was swinging back to his apartment, he heard a loud scream and so he went to go investigate and that ended up taking longer than he thought. 

It turns out, Peter’s mind was occupied from the talk he had with Iron Man and his healing powers were taking way too long to fix the slight stab wound on his left side. 

Peter groaned as the morning sun shined on his face. He moved his hand to his side and felt that it was wet. He was scared to lol but he was positive that he bled out through his pyjama shirt and onto his sheets. 

Peter opened his eyes, squinting at the sunlight. He lifted up his blankets and saw a huge red blood stain on his shirt as well as the bed sheets. 

“No. No no no no no.” Peter whispered out as he quickly got out of bed and tried to gather everything that got blood on it so he could put it in the wash before May woke up. Peter knew that she was home from work today so he only had about an hour to wash his sheets before May wakes up. 

Peter quickly changed out of his pyjama shirt and put on a baggy sweater, not bothering to even glance at his wound. He was too scared to look at it since it should have already healed by now so Peter was confused as to why it hadn’t healed yet. 

He piled up everything in his arms and carried it out into the laundry room. 

Just as Peter dropped his sheets into the washer, he heard footsteps behind him and quickly turned around to see May standing there, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. 

They stared at each other for a few long seconds before May spoke. “Peter, what are you doing?” 

“Um, nothing, May. Just-nothing. Okay.” Peter felt his heart beating in his chest. He could practically hear it as May continued to stare at Peter, trying to piece together what was happening at seven in the morning. 

Peter raised his eyebrows at May, silently begging his Aunt to leave him alone so May sighed and walked back into the kitchen to leave Peter alone. 

Peter sighed once she was gone and finished shoving his sheets into the washer, trying to remember how to turn it on. It took a lot longer than he would have liked but he eventually got it and ran back into his bedroom before May decided to pound him with questions. 

Once he was in his bedroom and alone, Peter slowly and carefully lifted up his sweater to reveal fresh and dried up blood covering his whole left side. 

It hurt a lot. More than he expected it too but at the same time, Peter expected it to be gone right now or in the process of healing and it wasn’t. 

He knew that it only looked really bad because there was so much blood surrounding the wound that he needed to clean up. Peter grabbed some clean clothes and tried to sneak into the bathroom without May seeing him but when he walked out of his bedroom May was sitting on the couch and looking right at him. 

Neither of them said anything to each other as Peter quickly rushed to the bathroom and shut the door. He wanted to be embarrassed about the whole situation but he couldn’t be since he was more scared about his flesh wound. 

Peter turned the shower on so May would think that’s what he’s doing. He pulled his sweater off and looked at himself in the mirror. The wound looked even bigger than last night and now it had a mix of fresh blood leaking out and the dried up crusty blood coating his skin and all down his left leg. 

“Ow. Ow.” Peter whispered out when he tried to get a better look at it but ended up stretching the skin. He let out a quiet whimper and squeezed his eyes shut until the pain passed just a bit. “Okay. Okay, Peter. You got this.” 

Peter grabbed a black towel so the blood wouldn’t show and wet it in the shower before he started to carefully wipe the sides of his wound and down his leg to get all the blood off. 

Once he was done, Peter could see that his wound still looked really bad but it did look a little better and he was thankful for that. 

He opened up the bathroom cabinet and tried to find some gauze. Once he found it, Peter wasn’t sure exactly how to apply it so he just placed it over the wound, knowing he was forgetting a few steps. 

He made sure it was sticking to him before cleaning up the bathroom the best he could. He took off his pants and wrapped a towel around his shoulders so May would think that he actually went in the shower then went into his bedroom, not even bothering to look at May. 

Peter checked the time and saw that it was still early. He planned on going over to Neds house for a few hours which he was really looking forward to so he hoped that his wound healed before then. 

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“This is so cool, Ned! How many pieces does it have?” Peter asked as he grabbed the box and read the label. His eyes widened in excitement. “No way! 6564!” 

Ned grabbed the box from Peter and joined his friend on his bedroom floor. “Yep! I’ve been begging my mom to get it for me for weeks! When she finally got it, I just knew we had to build it together.”

Peter grinned at the box then dumped out all the LEGO pieces on the floor. “Woah! No way! Look at all the pieces!” 

As the two boys got to building, Peter was so distracted that he totally forgot about his bleeding side. He had brought extra padding to put there just in case he had to change it which he really hoped that wasn't the case. 

After about an hour or so, Peter’s side had gone from a slight throbbing to now a painful sharp pain that was causing him to lose focus on building the LEGO with Ned. He tried to ignore it but every time he would shift his body on the floor or move his arm the wrong way it would send a sharp pain through his body and he would fight hard to not make a sound. 

Ned seemed to notice his discomfort and asked him about it. “Are you okay? You seem… weird.” 

Peter tried to laugh it off. “I thought we already established that I’m weird, Ned.” 

Ned, however didn’t laugh at Peter’s attempt at a joke. He leaned closer to Peter to get a better look at his face. “Dude, your face is all pale and sweaty. If you’re not feeling well you can go home. I won’t be mad.” 

Peter seriously thought about it. 

He knew Ned wouldn’t be mad because he literally just said he wouldn’t but he also didn’t want to go home since that would mean actually getting up and walking home. Unless May could pick him up… no, he knew she was at work. 

Peter wished he had more people in his corner but the truth was, he had no one. The only person who knew that he was Spider-Man was Iron Man but even then, Mr. Stark didn’t even know it was him that was Spider-Man. He was alone. 

Peter shook his head at Neds question. “I’m fine. I’m just… I’m gonna go to the bathroom quickly.” 

Peter bit down on his lip as he grabbed his backpack and headed to the bathroom. He tasted blood and hoped that he didn’t split his lip as well. He couldn’t deal with yet another injury. 

Once inside the bathroom, Peter shut the door and leaned against the counter. He slowly lifted up his sweater and saw that his bandages had completely bled through. 

He peeled them off of his stomach before wrapping them in a bunch of toilet paper and throwing it in Ned's garbage just so no one would see what it actually was since it was all wrapped up. Peter then looked in the mirror at his wound. He winced at it which caused more pain to spread through his body. 

It did look like it was starting to heal. Just really really slowly which Peter was annoyed at. He knew that if he had somewhere to go and people to trust then he probably should have gotten stitches but he didn’t have that so he had to make due with his uneducated medical opinion. 

After attempting to clean and redress the wound the best he could, Peter grabbed his backpack and walked back out of the bathroom. 

Ned was still in the same position as he left him in so Peter resumed his old position again too. He felt a tad bit better after he had new dressing on his wound and that he could see that it was healing just really slowly. And really painful. He wished he had a better suit that didn’t consist of cloth. 

He then thought about Mr. Starks offer. 

If he went to Germany with the man to fight then he would get a new suit out of it. It sounded like a really good deal to Peter but he still needed to come up with an excuse to give May and for Mr. Stark not to find out that he’s underage and technically can’t fly without a guardian signature. 

Stupid fourteen year old problems. 

Peter ended up staying at Neds house for another hour before he was walking back home. He brought his Spider-Man suit in his backpack just in case he decided to fight crime and he really wanted to but he just didn’t think he could right now in his current state. 

Just walking was agonizingly painful. So he couldn’t imagine what swinging around would feel like. 

Peter wondered how long it would take for his stupid wound to heal. It was so stupid because he’s supposed to have super human healing powers so why isn’t it working? What’s the point of having powers if it doesn’t even work. 

By the time Peter got home, he was exhausted but he had to clean his wound once again before he got to lie down and rest. 

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Peter doesn’t remember falling asleep. 

The last thing he remembers is him cleaning his wound once again and then walking into his bedroom. He doesn’t know how he got to his bed and fell as it he’s grateful that he got to sleep since he does actually feel a bit better now. 

Peter looked over to what woke him up in the first place. His phone was vibrating on his nightstand table because someone was calling him. He reached over and pressed answer without even looking at who was calling him. 

“Hello?” Peter cleared his throat and sat up in bed. 

“Oh Mr. Parker!” It was Mr. Stark. Peter felt all the sleep leave his body and his eyes go wide. 

“Mr. Stark?! How-how, um, hi.” Peter stuttered out and sat up in bed. 

“Were you having a nice nap, kid?” Tony asked amused. The kid sounded out of it. 

“Um, yeah. But I’m up now. Why um, why are you calling me?” Peter asked as his hand went down to his side. 

“Are you doing anything today? How about you come to the tower and we can work in the lab for a bit. Happy will come get you, okay?” Tony said without really giving Peter the chance to say no. Not like he would have anyways. 

Peter looked down at his wound. It didn’t bleed through but he still had to be careful Tony didn’t see it. “Yes! Yeah, I’ll come. Yeah.” 

Tony laughed at Peter trying to cover up his excitement. “Perfect! I’ll see you soon.” 

Peter didn’t get the chance to say anything before Tony was hanging up the phone. Peter wouldn’t be surprised if Happy was already waiting outside so Peter knew he had to get ready quickly so he didn’t keep the man waiting. 

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Peter thought he was doing a good job at hiding his pain and the wound on his side. 

He made small movements so Mr. Stark wouldn’t see it and ask about it. 

He’s been at the tower for over two hours now and Peter really needs to change his dressing so it doesn’t bleed through his shirt and through the sweater that he’s wearing. Also because the padding he has on now is starting to irate his skin and he wants it off. 

Peter looked over at Tony who was working at his desk on some wiring. Peter watched him for a few seconds and tried to think about how he’s going to grab his backpack that he brought with him into the bathroom without making it look obvious or weird. 

Tony’s facing him but he seems to be too invested with his work to even notice that Peter has been staring at him for the past two minutes. 

Just as Peter goes to stand up, his side hits the table and he topples over in pain. 

“You okay? Peter?” Tony looks up from his work and sees the kid bunches over on himself. At first he assumes that the kid is going to be sick and he really doesn’t want to have to clean up vomit even if it was just from Peter. It’s still disgusting. 

“Uh huh.” Peter managed to say and then stood up straight again. He looked over at Mr. Stark who was standing up and slowly making his way over to him but Peter didn’t want him to since if he did then that meant that he would probably lift up his shirt and find out what happened to him. 

Peter knew that if Tony saw his wound then he would figure out that he’s Spider-Man and Peter really didn’t want that. He had to get away from Tony. 

“I’m-I’m fine.” Peter started making his way into the bathroom after grabbing his bag. “I’ll be r-right back, Mr. Stark.” 

Tony watched as Peter hurried into the bathroom. He had no idea what had just happened and he wasn't sure if it was Spider-Man related or teenager related. 

He sighed and sat back down on his stool while he waited for the kid to come out of the bathroom. He couldn’t continue with his wiring since he needed full focus on it and his full focus was on the kid right now. 

After ten long minutes with still no Peter, Tony got up and knocked on the bathroom door. “Kid? You okay in there?” 

It was silent for a few seconds in which Tony pictured himself having to break the door down but then Peter answered him. “Um, I’m fine.” 

Tony paused. He didn’t know what to do but if Peter needed help then he would help him. “Do you need my help with anything?” 

Peter was silent again before speaking. “Um… no. No, I’m fine.” 

Tony waited by the door for a few more seconds. “Okay, kid.” 

Less than five minutes later, Peter was coming out of the bathroom and placing his backpack on the floor before going back to his work desk without saying a word. 

Tony watched him silently. Peter was avoiding his eye contact and seemed to be positioning his back to him. Tony stood up and started walking over to the kid. 

He didn’t know how hard he should push Peter for answers. The kid wasn’t his kid. He was just… a kid. 

Although technically he was Tony’s responsibly right now since Peter was in his care and under his supervision so if anything were to happen to him it would definitely be his fault. Tony didn’t know how to go about this situation. 

He put his hands in his pocket and leaned against Peter’s desk. When Peter didn’t look up at him, Tony reached over and grabbed the screwdriver that the kid had in his hand and slammed it on the desk, making an echo in the lab. 

“What’s going on?” Tony asked. He didn’t want to be held responsible for Peter getting hurt. Plus he didn’t want Peter to be hurt, if he could help him he would but first he had to know what was going on with him first. 

“N-nothing, Mr. Stark.” Peter said while looking down at his lap. 

Tony could see that Peter had pale skin that was covered in a lair of sweat. He wouldn’t be concerned if he was doing anything active but he was just sitting at a desk and had been for the past few hours. 

Tony didn’t know the kid very well but he knew he was a horrible liar. “Stop lying.” 

Peter looked up at Tony with a desperate look on his face. At first Tony thought he was going to cry and he didn’t know how he was supposed to handle that. “Peter, you’re as white as a ghost and you look all sweaty and sick.” 

Peter looked down. He saw how bad he looked in the mirror in the bathroom. 

Tony didn’t know what else to say without making it obvious that he cared about the kid a little bit and he wanted to help him so of course Tony did what he does best, destroy everything that is so beautiful and innocent. “Look, kid. I’m just trying to cover my own ass. If you’re sick on my watch, I get in trouble so do be a favour and tell me what’s wrong.” Tony lied to get Peter to talk. 

Tony knew what he said was a lie, he honestly couldn’t care less about him getting in trouble. He could handle that but what he couldn’t handle was Peter getting sick or being hurt and him not knowing. 

The look on Peter’s face after he said that made Tony instantly regret saying what he did. Peter looked up at him so sad and broken. Why did Tony always ruin everything? 

Peter felt his heart fall into his stomach at Mr. Starks words. He knew the man didn’t care about him, why would he? But part of him thought that maybe he liked him just a little bit. Maybe just a tad but apparently not. 

He felt his eyes watering and his lip starting to wobble but Peter looked away from Tony and blinked to stop the tears from falling down. 

“I’m sorry for bugging you, Mr. Stark. I’m sorry but I’ll go now.” Peter stood you and grabbed his backpack from the floor. He didn’t turn around to look at Tony because he knew if he did he would see everything that he’s not going to have anymore and break down. “Thank you for-for inviting me to your lab and teaching be but can-can you have Happy drive me home now? Please.” 

Tony watched Peter shuffle from foot to foot and he hated himself for saying that. He knew Peter was a sensitive kid but he wasn’t used to dealing with sensitive. He wasn’t even used to dealing with kids. 

“Kid, I didn’t mean-”

Peter cut Tony off. “No, it’s okay, Mr. Stark. Just- can Happy bring me home?” 

Peter just wanted to get out of there. Mr. Stark clearly didn’t want him there and he felt himself slowly starting to break down. Everything in his life was finally started to get better once again but he was wrong. He was so stupid for thinking he was even welcome at the tower. 

Tony didn’t want to force Peter to stay in the lab or at the tower if he clearly didn’t want to. He didn’t want the kid to hate him anymore than he already does. “Uh, sure. I’ll call him.” 

Peter nodded his head and walked into the elevator to go meet Happy where he always met him. Usually Mr. Stark walked him up but not anymore and never again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked that. I’m gonna go write the next chapter right now:)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m starting to really like this fic again which is a nice feeling! I hope you guys like this chapter

It had been a few days since Peter ran out of Mr. Starks lab. 

Peter still got a sharp pain in his chest every time he thought about that day. It hurt. What Mr. Stark had said to him. It hurt a lot but there was nothing he could do about it now. 

There was nothing he could do about it so Peter tried to forget about what he could have had with Tony Stark as his mentor and tried not to let tears fill his eyes as he thought about what he had lost. 

He knew what he had wasn’t going to last. Why would it last. Tony Stark was an extremely successful and busy man who wouldn’t have time for some kid. Why would he want to have time for a kid? 

Peter tossed his backpack on the floor by the door of his apartment. He decided to walk home today since it was fairly nice out. It was a bit cold out but that was fine. It was refreshing and he needed to clear his head after having a stressful day. 

He woke up too early since he couldn’t sleep with his racing thoughts and that caused him to be miserable and irritable all day. His teacher pulled him aside to talk with him about a bad test score and he wanted to cry because of that. He felt tears burn his eyes so he had to quickly blink them away to stop anything from falling and embarrassing himself. 

“Is that you, Peter?” May called from her bedroom. Peter groaned. He wished he was home alone. 

“Yeah. I’m going to get started on my homework.” Peter turned back around to pick up his backpack and started making his way to his bedroom but May stuck her head out of her bedroom door and looked at him. 

“It’s Friday afternoon. You have all weekend to do that. Plus Tony called me and he said he’s coming to pick you up in twenty minutes so get ready.” May said as she picked something out of her hair. 

Peter just stared at her. 

He hasn’t told May what happened the last time he was Mr. Starks lab and that was because no matter how much it had hurt what Tony said to him, Peter still looked up to the man and wanted to be just like him and he knew if he told May what Tony said to him and implied would mean that May most likely would grow to hate Tony and wouldn’t let Peter idolize him. 

“Peter? Are you tired?” May snapped her fingers in front of Peter’s face which caused him to flinch. 

“M’fine. What time did you say Mr. Stark was coming at?” 

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Tony felt horrible. 

He had been feeling horrible ever since he watched the kid walk out of the lab after saying those things to him. Tony didn’t mean it but he knew he shouldn’t have said it since that caused Peter to take it to heart. 

Tony wasn’t used to dealing with feelings and sensitive people. Sure, Pepper was sensitive but she knew what he was like. She puts him in his place when he’s too much and acts out plus the fact that she’s an adult that can take care of herself and be perfectly fine with doing so. 

Peter on the other hand, he’s a child. He’s a child that has lots of emotions and is sensitive. Tony noticed that first hand and that’s also what made him like the kid so much. 

He’s so innocent and excited in all the best ways and just brings a smile to Tony’s face no matter how hard Tony tries to hold it back. The way Peter’s eyes light up when he’s working on something in the lab or the way Tony can show him new project designs and Peter practically leans into him to try and get a better look is so childlike and it makes Tony want to protect the kid. 

So that’s why he’s driving to Queens on a Friday afternoon to pick Peter up for some lab time but mainly to just apologize to the kid without actually having to say it. 

Tony pulled up to the kids apartment and debates on texting him to let him know he’s here or if he should just go up to get him. He decides to go up to get the kid because he feels like he should walk him down. 

So Tony gets out of his car and starts walking into the building. The elevator is painfully long so thankfully Peter’s apartment is on the fifth floor. 

Tony feels ridiculous. He should have called the kid or texted him to ask him if he even wanted to come over. He doesn’t even know if Peter will come with him, why would he, now that Tony thinks if it. He basically told Peter that he didn’t care about him at all and now, here he is, showing up at the kids apartment to take him back to his lab. 

It was too late now though since Tony was already there. No turning back now. 

He knocked on the door, only waiting a few seconds before the door was opening revealing May. “Hi Tony. I have to get to work but come in. Peter! Come.” 

Tony thanked the kids unusually attractive Aunt and stepped inside as she left the apartment, shutting the door behind her. 

Tony felt uncomfortable. He looked around for Peter but he didn’t see him anywhere. He was just about to start walking towards his bedroom when Peter popped up and waved to him awkwardly. 

“Hi.” 

Tony eyed him. He looked pale and tired. “Hi.” 

Peter looked at him through his hair that hung in his eyes then looked away once they made eye contact. Tony was sure that the kid was going to say something first but that didn’t seem like it was going to happen anymore so Tony decided to start. 

“Look, kid,” He began, having no idea where he was going with this. “I didn’t mean what I said the other day. I know you took it the wrong way and… I miss my lab partner so do you wanna come back?” 

Peter looked like he was trying to hold back what he wanted to say and Tony hated that. 

“I don’t want to force you to do anything that you don’t want to do, kid. If you don’t want to see me again th-”

Peter cut Tony off. “No! I mean, I do. It’s just… I don’t want you to feel like you have to hang out with me or anything. It’s totally okay if-if you don’t want me around.” 

Tony chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Kid, I do want you around. Why do you think I’m here. I don’t go to random peoples houses just to fake small talk.” 

Peter smiled a bit at that before breaking into a huge grin. “Okay.” 

“Okay?” Tony asked hopefully. 

Peter nodded. “Okay.” 

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.  
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It was still a bit awkward for the next few hours. 

Tony could tell that Peter was walking on eggshells around him, trying not to do or say anything that would make him mad or annoyed. 

That was annoying Tony. He wanted Peter to go back to being his happy and excited self but now it’s like he had this barrier. 

“So I was thinking,” Tony put down his phone and turned towards Peter where he was sitting on his knees on his rolling chair. Tony has told him a bunch of times not to sit like that because Peter leaned forward which would eventually cause him to fall and smack his chin on the metal table but Peter kept going back to sitting that way so Tony gave up. “how about we watch a movie tonight? I’ll even let you pick it.” 

Peter turned on his chair to look at Tony. He wasn’t sure if Tony was being serious or not. Maybe he was messing with him before he sends him home. “Umm…?” 

Tony held his hand up. “Obviously if you don’t want to…” 

Peter shook his head. “I-I do. I just… I mean it’ll be late by the time the movies over so I don’t know…” 

Tony checked the time. It was just past nine at night. Wow. He didn’t even realize it was so late. “Well I’m sure it’s already past your bedtime since I’m guessing it’s what? Eight? Nine?” 

Peter turned to Tony a bit more, his chair squeaking with the movement. Tony chuckled at his face. “My bedtime is not eight o’clock.” 

Tony rolled a pencil in his hand. “So you’ll admit that you do have a bedtime then?” 

Peter huffed and rolled his eyes which answered Tony’s question so he stood up and walked over to Peter’s workbench, leaning on the side of it. “What do you say about a sleepover? You can call your Aunt and ask her if you’re allowed then I’ll drop you off tomorrow at some time.” 

Peter really wanted to and Tony could tell that he could so he didn’t understand why the kid wasn’t jumping at his offer. Oh yeah, because he was an ass. 

“I don’t want you to feel forced to if you don’t want to.” Tony added in because he could see the hesitation that was creeping up on Peter’s face. 

“I do want to, Mr. Stark.” Peter paused. “But I can’t.” 

“Can’t? Why can’t you? Of course you can.” So much for not forcing the kid, Stark. 

Peter shifted on his chair awkwardly. “I um, well I mean I don’t have any pyjamas or things like that.” 

It wasn’t just pyjamas that were the problem. He didn’t have anything but his phone with him. No toothbrush, no toothpaste, no clean clothes for tomorrow. No underwear. He could go with wearing the same clothes for two days in a row but not with wearing the same underwear and socks for two days in a row. 

Tony didn’t even think about that. He could just order the kid everything he needed and have Happy bring it up but he didn’t exactly know what size Peter was for clothes. He knew what his measurements were to make the suit and sure he could convert that into actual kids sizes in clothes but he didn’t want to do that and buy certain items. It wasn’t his job. 

“Do you want me to drive you to your apartment to grab an overnight bag and then we can pick up some food on the way back?” Tony decided that that was a perfect idea as he was saying it. 

Peter hesitated before nodding his head. “Y-yeah. That sounds good but I just have to text May and ask her first.” 

Peter immediately took out his phone and sent a text message to May. Tony put his hands on his shoulders. “We should start heading back now. Either way you have to go back so we might as well start the journey.” 

Peter stood up and rolled his eyes. “You say journey like we’re gonna be driving for hours.” 

Tony put his arm around the kids small frame as they stepped into the elevator, Tony hitting the ground floor. “It does feel like hours when you’ve already been driving for hours.” 

Peter’s eyes brightened at that. “Let me drive then.” 

Tony eyed the bright eyed kid. He then thought about how Peter is fourteen years old. He’s fourteen. Too young to even sit behind the wheel, hell, he probably just graduated from sitting in the back seat to the front seat. 

“Have you ever even sat in the driver's seat before, Pete?” Tony honestly asked. He was curious. 

Peter shrugged so that was a no. “I’m really good at Mario Kart.” 

Tony laughed. “That’s not even close to the same thing.” 

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The pair drove to Peter’s apartment with Peter running quickly inside and packing an overnight bag, trying not to forget anything. He glanced at his Spider-Man suit and shoved it to the bottom of his bag. 

It was harder to go out as Spider-Man in the nighttime at his apartment because May was home at nights a lot either coming back from a night shift or getting ready for one but now that he was going to be spending the night at the tower, he could easily tell Tony he’s going to bed when he’s really going out as Spider-Man. 

He zipped his bag up, tossing it over his shoulder then skipping down to Tony’s car. He tossed his bag into the trunk and put his seatbelt on. “I was thinking about McDonald's. Sound good?” 

Peter’s mouth watered. He didn’t even remember the last time he ate McDonald’s. It’s been so long. “Yes! I love McDonald’s.” 

Tony laughed, agreeing with the kid as he drove to the nearest McDonald’s. They chatted along the way about Peter’s school, how he was liking grade nine and Tony told him a few age appropriate stories from his time in college. 

They sat in the car in the parking lot while they ate and talked some more. Tony found that he loved the kids company. He was so funny and held so much innocence and brightness to him that Tony wanted nothing more than to protect. 

He found himself smiling at the kid, barely listening to what he was talking a mile a minute about as he took in all the details. Peter used his hand a lot when he talked, especially when he was excited. His arms would be flying in the air. 

He talked with his mouth full and had ketchup all over his chin that he would wipe away but every time he would take a bite, it would come back. Tony observed how Peter took the pickles out of his cheeseburger but ate them anyways. Weird. 

“Hey? Are you even listening to me?” Peter asked, looking hurt that Tony wasn’t giving him attention. 

“Yeah. I’m listening. You were talking about this one time when you fell off your bike.” Tony took a bite from his burger but Peter rolled his eyes. 

“No. You’re not listening.” The kid sighed. “I was pushed off my bike. And I was four.” 

Tony laughed. Okay, maybe he wasn’t listening to Peter after all but now he wanted to. 

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“Sleep good, kid.” Tony put his hand on Peter’s shoulder for a few seconds before removing it. “If you need anything, just ask FRIDAY or call me and I’ll come.” 

Peter nodded his head. He was actually really tired but he didn’t plan on going to bed just yet. He was way too excited to put his suit on and fight some late night crime. 

“Okay! Thanks but I think I’m good.” Peter skipped towards the room that Tony showed him to before. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Mr. Stark. Sleep good.” 

Tony watched as the kid bounced happily towards the spare room. He thought about asking Peter to stay up later with him so they could work in the lab for a long time but he knew he had to be responsible. 

Once Peter walked into the room, he shut the door behind him and turned the light on. His bag was on the bed so he pulled all his clothes off until he was just in his underwear then dug around his bag for his suit, pulling that on. 

He felt so cool. 

He was wearing his Spider-Man suit in the tower with Tony Stark just a few doors down. He was so cool. 

Peter turned the light off, walked over to the window to open it and started crawling down the side of the tower just hoping no one would see him. 

Once he was closer to the ground, he jumped off the tower and shot a web out to swing to another building feeling the drop in his stomach that he loved so much. 

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Tony got the alert from FRIDAY less than ten minutes after he sent the kid to bed. 

“Boss, Peter has left the tower through his bedroom window.” FRIDAY supplied as Tony felt his heart drop. 

“What?! What do you mean he left through the window?” Tony tried to think about what happened when he suddenly remembered something. The kid was Spider-Man. “Was he wearing his Spider-Man suit?” 

“It appears so, Boss.” FRIDAY said and Tony got an idea. 

He stopped what he was doing and suited up. 

It was 1am which was a dangerous time in certain parts of New York. Even though Peter was Spider-Man, he was still a child who was literally dressed in a thin and unprotected onesie.

Tony found Peter instantly. He was stopping a fight that broke out between two old men. One of the men swung a broken beer bottle at Peter’s head which he dodged without even looking at it, that amazed Tony. 

He silently hovered above Peter for about an hour. He watched as the kid mostly swung from rooftop to rooftop. Letting himself fall before catching himself. Tony didn’t even realize that he had been smiling the whole time he was watching Peter. 

When it hit 2:30am, Tony decided to make his presence noticeable to the kid. Now was a good time as any to give him the dates to get on his private jet and head to Germany. 

Tony landed on the roof in front of Peter, stopping him from swinging onto the next roof. He laughed behind his mark as Peter flinched back from him and almost fell on his butt. 

“Iron Man. Oh my god. Um…” Peter stuttered out. Peter had no idea if Tony knew who he was. Maybe he went into the spare room and saw that he wasn’t there then put two and two together somehow. Or he saw him crawling out of his window and down the side of the tower. 

Peter was really starting to regret doing this now. 

“Spider-Man. Doing some late night patrolling, are we?” Tony asked, stepping out of his suit. 

“Y-yes. I um, yes.” Peter had no idea what to say. He tried to make his voice go deeper but it was actually going higher now. He mentally cursed. 

“Well so am I. I couldn’t sleep so I decided to go for a little stroll when I bumped into you,” Tony lied about the sleeping part. Actually he lied about everything. “Now that I have you though, we should discuss what we talked about a few days ago.” 

Peter nodded. The fight about the Accords in Germany with the other Avengers. 

“I was actually going to come find you some time this week so this works out perfectly,” Tony paused before continuing. “So, as you know from what we’ve talked about before, you need to come to Germany with me to fight on my side so you still up for that?” 

Peter nodded his head. Of course he was up for that, he gets a new suit out of it, plus he gets to fight with freaking Iron Man. No way was he passing that up. 

“Yeah. I’m up for it but um, the same rules apply for me.” Peter put his hands uncomfortably behind his back to try and hide how nervous he was. 

“Of course. Wanna run me by those rules one more time.” Tony knew what Peter wanted but he just wanted to hear the kid say it again just to be sure. 

“Oh yeah, um, my mask stays on. No matter what and you can’t ask me any questions.” Peter explained. He hoped he wasn’t asking too much. 

“Just no personal questions right? I can ask you if you’re hungry or whatever?” Tony asked sarcastically and he could practically see the eye roll from the snarky kid. 

“Yes.” Peter rolled his eyes. He had no idea how this would play off. 

“Well, okay, kid.” Tony put his hands in his pocket and started moving back to his suit. “I’ll have my bodyguard pick you up on Monday night at eight. Be ready. Where do you want to be picked up?” 

Peter tried to think of a place. He couldn’t get picked up at his apartment or in front of his school so he tried to think of a place. “Here. By the front entrance of this building.” 

Tony had no idea what building they were on top of. All he knew was that they were in one of the worst parts of Queens which Tony didn’t like so much. Monday night Peter would be walking here by himself with possibly an overnight bag of some sort. He would just have to have Happy show up extra early. 

“Sounds good. I’ll see you in Germany then, Spidey.” Tony turned around and went to hop back into his suit but Peter stopped him, his voice going high pitched before Tony heard him clear his throat. 

“Wait!... um, are you not going to be on the plane with me?” Peter asked. He tried not to appear scared but he was terrified. He’s never been on a plane before and that’s how his parents died. He at least wanted Mr. Stark on the plane with him just in case he gets scared. 

Peter shook his head. No, he was supposed to be an adult. There was no way he was allowed to get scared. He was an ‘adult’ and Spider-Man. 

“No. I’ll be there before you anyways so I’ll see you after you land and get to the hotel.” Tony explained. He could hear the fear in the kids voice and it was hard for him not to try and comfort him. It was hard to remember that Peter was still only a child. 

“Oh. Okay, that’s fine. I’ll see you in Germany then.” Peter started backing away towards the roof then jumped off. His legs felt weak and so did his arms so he started swinging back to the tower. 

The worst part of keeping this secret was that he didn’t have anyone to tell. He wanted so badly to just crawl into Mays bed with her and talk to her about this then fall asleep feeling safe and comfortable but that wasn’t an option. 

He didn’t have anyone to talk to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh Peter’s going to Germany soon! I can’t wait to wait that I’m excited


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii guys! I hope you guys are all doing okay! I’m EXHAUSTED! Like I want to write the next chapter but I literally can’t keep my eyes open like what is this nonsense

Tony got back to the tower way before Peter did. He took his suit off and made his way to the kitchen to have a late night snack. 

He had just set the date for Germany so this was happening and Tony was curious to see how this whole trip would play out with Peter and Spider-Man. 

Tony hoped that by now Peter would have told him his secret and he could have run all his tests on Peter and ask him about his powers since right now all he was doing was guessing what Peter was capable of or not. 

“Boss, Peter has returned to the tower.” FRIDAY mentioned so Tony waited a few minutes for Peter to take off his suit and at least pretend to fall asleep before he made his way into the kids bedroom. 

Tony slowly pushed open Peter’s bedroom door and saw that all the lights were off, the only light was from the moon coming in through the window. He walked to the side of the bed that Peter was laying on and sat down. 

He wasn’t even sure why he was in Peter’s bedroom. Now that he was in there he felt a bit creepy for sneaking into a fourteen year old boy’s bedroom in the middle of the night and he wasn’t even the kids dad. 

Tony hesitated. Why did he come in there in the first place? He thought to himself before he reached out and rearranged the blankets so that they were pulled up to Peter’s chin. 

The kid was pretending to sleep. It was extremely obvious because his body and face was so tense but Tony still couldn’t help but notice how peaceful and young he looked. That’s what scared Tony about bringing the kid to Germany with him. 

Yeah, sure the fight was with the Avengers and he would be there to keep an eye on Peter and protect him but the thought of seeing the kid in battle, in person was scary. 

He would be the only one who would know that behind that mask was a young face, a fourteen year old kid and while the Avengers were the most dangerous people in the world, Tony knew that they wouldn’t be going all out during the fight. Hopefully not. 

But that still didn’t mean that they wouldn’t still fight hard and no one was going to know Peter’s age. Sure you can tell that he’s young just by looking at his body in the suit but he doubted that anyone was going to be paying attention to that. 

Tony reaches over to Peter’s face and ran a hand through the kids soft hair when Peter flinched, obviously not expecting the touch. Peter opened his eyes and pushed away from Tony at first. 

“Go to sleep, kid. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Tony moved his hand away and stared at the kid awkwardly. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter asked confused. 

“Go to sleep.” Tony put his hand over Peter’s eyes as he stood up and left the room. He didn’t mean to wake Peter up even if he knew the kid was already awake. 

Shit. Tony thought. He needed to make sure that he protected Peter when they got to Germany. He wasn’t even going to be flying with the kid so he would have to make sure Happy takes care of him. 

Tony went down to his lab to take another look at the Spider-Man suit to see if he needed to make anymore improvements. 

He spent the whole night down there and didn’t even realize it until FRIDAY was telling him that Peter was awake and was looking for him. 

“Tell him I’ll meet him in the kitchen in a minute.” Tony checked the time and saw that it was 9:30am. He had no idea how time escaped him like that. It happens a lot when he’s down in his lab but he thought with Peter being over and everything that he would have at least tried to get some sleep. 

He made his way upstairs and into the kitchen where Peter was standing there awkwardly. “Hey, kid. Sleep well?” 

Peter nodded his head and moved to sit on the bar stool. Tony looked at him and noticed how curly and fluffy his hair was, he smiled at the kid then turned around to decide what to make Peter for breakfast. 

“What do you wanna eat? I can’t cook anything without setting the kitchen on fire so what’ll it be?” Tony asked the kid with his back to him as he looked in the cabinet. 

“May can’t cook either and I’m not allowed to use the stove.” Peter laughed to himself which had Tony smiling. He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t cook in Peter’s life then. “I’ll just have cereal. If you have any.” 

“Of course I have cereal, kid. It’s my go to meal.” Tony pulled out a cereal box that read Lucky Charms on the front. He was sure Peter would like it. “This okay?” 

“Yeah and cereal isn’t a meal, Mr. Stark.” Peter tried to be serious but he was laughing too hard. He felt like he was in a really good mood. It was nice. 

“It is if you eat it enough.” Tony reasoned. He practically lived off of cereal when he was home for longer than a week at a time. Otherwise he would just order take out. Still unhealthy. “So how’d you sleep last night?” 

Peter wasn’t expecting Tony to talk about his sleeping habits. He didn’t want the man to know that he rarely slept due to nightmares and that he would whimper in his sleep so May would have to come in to calm him down. He hoped Tony hadn't heard him last night if he was in fact making noise in his sleep. “Good. I slept good.” 

Tony eyed the kid. He wasn’t going to bring up how he knew that Peter lost out on multiple hours due to his Spider-Manning around the city. “That’s good.” He pushed the cereal bowl across the table with a glass of apple juice since he knows the kid likes it, then he made himself a coffee as he spoke. 

“So, I have to attend to some Avengers business in Germany for a few days meaning we’re gonna have to put our lab days on hold for a bit.” Tony explained to the kid. He knew Peter was coming with him but he didn’t want the kid to know that he knew. 

Peter slowly nodded. So he didn’t have to worry about his absence with Mr. Stark. He was a bit scared that something would come up and cause a problem between Mr. Stark leaving and him having to leave as well without the man knowing so it was a relief to not have to worry about that anymore. 

Now he just had to worry about how he was going to tell May that he was going to be gone for two days. Maybe he can fake a school trip?

“Yeah, that’s okay, Mr. Stark. I remember you telling me something about that before. We can work in the lab when you get back.” Peter gave Tony a slight smile then took a sip of his juice and went back to eating. 

Tony nodded, taking a sip of his own coffee. He wondered if he would have figured out Peter was Spider-Man if he didn’t actually know. The kid was a horrible liar but he still looked too young and small to be doing what he does. 

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.  
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Mr. Stark had dropped Peter off at his apartment building mid afternoon. 

They spent a few hours in the lab just enjoying each other’s company before they had to go to Germany and pretend to not know who the other one is. 

Tony watched Peter shoulder his overnight bag and disappear into the apartment building before he was driving off. He leaves in less than a day to go to Germany and Peter will be there a day later so that was the last time he sees the kid until then. He felt some soft of weird sadness at that thought but he pushed it aside. 

Peter walked into his apartment building and decided to walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. He wanted a bit of extra time to think about what he’s gonna tell May. 

A school trip didn’t seem all that believable since it was way too last minute and May wouldn’t let him go on it anyways since she would assume that it cost too much money. 

He tried to think about what to say. He thought about telling May that he needed to spend two nights at Neds house to work on a project with him but then she would keep in contact with Mrs. Leeds and he would have to tell Ned that he’s Spider-Man and that just wasn’t going to work out at all. 

Peter groaned as he unlocked his apartment door. Why couldn’t he be a good enough liar to actually come up with something believable? 

He put his bag down by the front door and saw May who was sitting on the couch. She immediately looked over at him and smiled. “Hi, baby. How was your time with Tony?” 

Peter smiled. “It was fun. We worked in the lab basically the whole time.” He sat next to her on the couch and brought his feet up. 

“That’s so good, baby. I’m glad you guys are okay now.” Nay patted his knee and Peter decided to take this opportunity and ask her. 

“Yeah. We’re really good now. Can I ask you something?” Peter asked her as he started playing with the fluff on the pillow. 

May looked curious and concerned as she turned to him. “Of course you can.” 

Peter swallowed. “Well… Mr. Stark is going to Philadelphia on Monday night to make a public speech at this really cool science Museum and he asked me if I wanted to come with him. We’ll be gone for two nights so we’ll be back some point Wednesday night but I promise I’ll keep up with all my homework so I won’t fall behind.” 

May sat back on the couch and thought about it but it didn’t look like she was going to say yes. “I don’t think so, Peter. I’m sorry. You have school and you’re still so young, I don’t think it’s a good idea for Stark to be responsible for you for three days and two nights.” 

Peter sighed and threw himself back on the couch. “May. I’m not five years old. I can take care of myself and put myself to bed on time.” 

May shook her head at him and raised her eyebrows. “Peter, but you can’t. I have to remind you to go to bed and to shower and to eat something. I’m not giving Stark that responsibility. Maybe when you’re a little older but right now it’s a no.” 

Peter started sweating. He could feel himself getting anxious. He had a responsibility to keep to Mr. Stark. Iron Man was counting on him… well technically Spider-Man but still. 

“Please, May. I promise I’ll be okay. I was with Tony all night last night and practically all day and I came back okay! Please.” Peter was about to start begging at this point. He was freaking out and he had to get May to say yes. 

She stood up and started walking into her bedroom. “No, Peter. That’s final. I don’t want to hear you bring this up again.” 

Peter stood up but threw himself back onto the couch. He groaned into the pillow but stopped after he realized how childish he must look so he stood back up, grabbed his overnight bag and went into his bed. He stopped himself from slamming his bedroom door no matter how badly he wanted to. 

He debated calling Tony and telling him that he was Spider-Man and to tell May to let him go but he knew that if he did that then Tony would know that Spider-Man was really a child and then he would be on May’s side and wouldn’t let him go then he would take his suit. He couldn’t risk that. 

There had to be another way. 

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Peter spent the rest of his Saturday in his bedroom. He snuck out as Spider-Man for an hour after May said she was running to the grocery store. He knew that she always got sidetracked so he would at least get an hour to patrol. 

He got back just as she was walking into the apartment so he tugged off his suit until he was just in his underwear then he grabbed a towel and dashed into the bathroom to shower and put his pyjamas on. 

All Peter could think about was how Mr. Stark was going to hate him and how he wasn’t ever going to talk to him again all because his stupid Aunt was being too strict with him and wasn’t letting him do anything. 

After he showered, he wrapped the towel around his shoulders and exited the bathroom, pausing when he saw May sitting on the couch and looking at him. 

“Peter, baby. Please don’t be mad at me. You know I’m right.” May looked tired and sad but Peter didn’t care. May was ruining his life and his chance to impress Tony Stark. 

He tightened the towel more around his shoulders and walked into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He had no idea what to do and was freaking out as the night went on. May was working all day tomorrow, she was working a double shift meaning that she wouldn’t be home for him to talk to so he had to talk to her tonight. 

He tossed his towel in the corner so he could get dressed into his pyjamas then he sat in his desk chair and spun around as he debated texting Tony. He could come clean right now and then Tony could talk to May. It might work. He would just have to convince Tony to help him out with May. 

“No.” Peter whispered to himself and tossed his phone on the bed. He groaned. Why did his Aunt have to be so strict with him? It wasn’t like he was going away with a group of his friends, well he didn’t have a group of friends. Just Ned. But it wasn’t like he was going away with a group of other fourteen year olds to… do whatever it is fourteen year olds do with their friends, Peter and Ned always play with their legos so maybe that, anyways. He was going with a responsible grown adult who was literally Iron Man so Tony would keep him safe. 

Peter rolled onto his back and slid off the bed. He stood up to go ask May one more time. She wasn’t in the living room anymore so he walked down the hallway to her bedroom and found her sitting on her bed with a book in her hand. 

She looked up at him and put her book down to give him her full attention. “Hi.” 

She smiled weakly and stood at the end of her bed. “Hi.” 

No one said anything for a few seconds then May patted the bed next to her for Peter to sit with her which he did. Peter climbed onto the bed but didn’t sit next to her. He couldn’t shake the anxiety that was rising in his body. 

She raised her eyebrows for him to start talking and Peter knew that she already knew why he was there so he didn’t waste anymore time. 

“Can I please go with Mr. Stark to Philadelphia?” Peter begged. “It’s only for a few days and it’s not like I’m gonna fall behind in school. It’ll be a great learning experience too.” He needed May to say yes. 

She sighed. “Peter, honey. I just don’t feel comfortable sending you away with Tony for two nights.” 

“But why?” He knew he sounded childish like he was asking why he couldn’t go to the park but he didn’t care. He had a responsibility to show up and keep his word. 

“Because, Peter.” May said then went to pick up her book again but Peter reached forward to take it out of her hands without even thinking about it. She looked at him shocked. “Excuse me.” 

“Please Aunt May. I was fine last night and it’ll just be one more night than that.” Peter tried. “You sometimes do double shifts at the hospital and when you come back I’m still here and okay. It’ll be the same thing.” 

May ran her hand over her eyes and Peter smiled to himself. He knew that May did that a lot when she was thinking about something but didn’t want to agree with it. 

“Okay. Yes, Peter. You can go.” May reluctantly said and Peter was throwing himself into her arms to thank her. 

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Peter hugged her then pulled away. His first thought was that he got to go tell Tony the good news but he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t tell anyone so he got off of May’s bed. 

“You’re welcome, baby, but I expect you to listen to Tony and be safe!” She smiled at him. 

“I know. I will but I’m not leaving yet, May.” He was actually kinda scared to go now that it was actually happening. “Goodnight, May.” 

“Sleep good, baby.” May blew him a kiss as he left her bedroom, shutting the door behind him. 

Peter went back into his bedroom and flopped down on the bed. He couldn’t believe that this was actually happening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I feel like realistically May would have called Tony and talked to him about him taking her 14 year old nephew to “Philadelphia” but I couldn’t have that because of obvious reasons so yea


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I didn’t update this last weekend ahhh that’s just because I didn’t finish it but then I did and I literally forgot to post like always so here this chapter is:))

Peter was beyond excited for Monday to come so he could go to school and then go to Germany with Mr. Stark. 

Well, he knew he wasn’t actually going to be flying to Germany with Mr. Stark but he would meet him there later on which was exciting. But also scary. Peter just hoped that the man kept their secret and didn’t ask him any questions because otherwise he might just figure out who Spider-Man is and Peter couldn’t have that. 

The rest of the weekend passed by pretty quickly which was surprising. 

Peter thought that it would take forever for Monday to roll around just because when you want time to go by fact it goes by slow and when you want time to go by slow it goes by fact. Stupid. 

Peter checked the time and saw that it was 8:34pm on Sunday night but he woke up pretty late that morning so he wasn’t ready for bed just yet. Plus he knew that May was working another night shift which would work out perfectly for him to go out as Spider-Man for as long as he wants to. 

He took his clothes off so that he was just in his underwear and then he stepped into his suit, pulling his mask over his face and climbing out of his bedroom window to have a full night of crime fighting. 

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.

Peter was exhausted. 

He may have pushed his limits a bit too hard last night and stayed out way too late and now his body was paying the price for it. 

Okay so maybe he still needed to get in more than five hours of sleep a night. 

It was last period and Peter wasn’t even paying attention to the lesson that his math teacher was giving him. He was more concerned with the fact that the clock in the classroom seemed to be stuck at 2:53pm when he was sure that it had been that time for the last hour!

He just wanted 3pm to hit so the bell would ring and he could race home to start packing for his trip and maybe get in a two hour nap before he leaves for the meeting spot. 

He had spoken to all of his teachers and they gave him the homework and lessons that he was responsible for catching up on while he was gone. It was a lot but he wasn’t sure what he was going to be doing the whole time so maybe it was a good thing that he could fill his downtime with homework. 

He thought about doing it on the airplane but thought better of that. Happy would see him doing homework and learn that he’s still in school. Peter thought about playing it off like he’s in college and not a freshman in high school but that wouldn’t work out so he would just have to keep it in his bag until he was alone. 

Once he got home, Peter dropped his stuff at the door and made his way into the kitchen to grab a snack and a drink then he went into his bedroom and started packing. 

Part of him regrets not doing this last night when he had more time but at the time he wanted to go out as Spider-Man more. Now however, he was regretting that because he wanted to get in a quick nap. 

Peter sucked at packing. He knew that and that’s why Aunt May had always packed his bag for him when he stayed the night at a friend's house. He never knew what to pack. 

He started off by getting a decent amount of shirts, pants, underwear and socks then he packed it all into his bag and started to think about what else he’s gonna need. 

He started to go over his daily routine in his head to help him which actually helped a lot because it made him realize that he needed his toothbrush and toothpaste and his deodorant. 

Peter, feeling satisfied with himself, zipped up his overnight bag and slipped into the living room to grab his backpack so he could take out what he didn’t need and keep only the homework he was bringing in there. 

Peter checked the time and saw that it was 4:30pm meaning he was able to take a nap for at least two hours. He set his alarm on his phone for seven o’clock and then crawled into bed. 

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Tony was beyond stressed. 

He had a pounding headache and if he wasn’t careful it would soon turn into a migraine so he left the room where the briefing was happening and he went into the bathroom to get away from everything for five minutes. 

He took a few deep breaths and shut his eyes to see if it would help the pounding in his head. After a few silent seconds, Tony was about to leave the bathroom to get a cup of coffee but his phone rang in his pocket so he pulled it out and checked who was calling. 

It was the kids Aunt. Weird. He answered it. “Hello?” 

“Hi Tony.” May greeted. Tony wondered why she was calling him. “I’m sorry to call you at this time, I’m sure you’re busy and all but I just wanted to talk to you about Peter going away with you for two nights and three days.” 

Tony felt his breath get caught in his throat. Had Peter actually told May about what was going on? That didn’t seem believable. 

“Yeah, of course you can talk to me about it.” Tony would just wait and see what May had to say about it first to see what Peter told her. 

“Well I just want to make sure that he’s gonna be in good hands when you take him to Philadelphia tonight. You know he’s only fourteen.” Okay then, so Tony knew what Peter told his Aunt then. Sneaky kid. May continued. “I’m just nervous about him leaving for that long with you… not because I don’t think you can’t protect him but just because I’m sure you’re not the most responsible when it comes to kids.” 

Tony felt like he had been subtly slapped across the face by the kids Aunt but he didn’t really blame her. If she only knew where he was actually taking her nephew. 

Suddenly Tony felt like a complete monster. He was dragging a child all the way to Germany to fight a fight with the Avengers that he had no idea what he was even fighting for. It was his responsibility to keep this woman's nephew safe and here he was lying straight to her face, well, over the phone, about where he was actually taking her nephew and what they were going to be doing. 

He felt like he was using Peter’s innocence and naiveté by bringing him all the way to Germany to fight with him. 

He owed it to May and to Peter to protect the kid. “He’s going to be okay with me, May. I promise I’ll keep your kid safe.” 

He heard May sigh over the phone. “Okay. Thank you. I want to tell you to send him to bed at a reasonable hour but I don’t want him to know that I called so just… make sure he doesn’t stay up too late and thank you for watching him.” 

Tony felt extremely guilty. “No problem, May.” 

He wondered how the Avengers were going to react when he tells them that his recruit is a fourteen year old boy. 

.  
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.

Peter quickly sat up and pressed his alarm on his phone for it to stop. 

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and saw that it was almost time to go so he got out of bed, took off all his clothes and slipped into his Spider-Man suit. He grabbed some extra web shooters just in case and tossed them into his backpack before slipping on his mask and throwing his backpack over his shoulders, grabbing onto his overnight bag and jumping out of his bedroom window. 

He was extremely early to the meet up point but was surprised to see a car already waiting there for him. 

Peter webbed to the building and scaled down the side of it before stepping out into the street lights and walking over to the car. Happy got out after seeing him and walked towards him. 

“You’re really early.” The man said and tried to reach for Peter’s overnight bag but Peter held it tighter towards himself. “Fine, if you want to put your own bag in the trunk then be my guest.” 

Peter didn’t say anything. He was stuck between not wanting to talk and potentially have his voice betray him or at least how young he is and being too afraid to speak since he didn’t want to say the wrong thing and make the man upset. 

Happy opened the trunk of the black Audi so Peter could carefully place his bag and backpack inside then he stepped aside so Happy could shut it. Peter looked up at the man through his mask eyes and noticed just how big the man was. It made sense since he was Tony Stark's bodyguard but it was still pretty intimidating. 

Happy opened up the back door and Peter didn’t hesitate before jumping into the backseat and putting his seatbelt on. When Happy got in, he started the car and pulled away. 

Peter felt really awkward because he wanted to talk but he had no idea what to say to the man that wouldn’t give away anything so he decided to just not say anything at all which was really hard for him. 

Happy didn’t seem to mind the silence at all because he was silent the whole drive to the airport and didn’t try to initiate any conversation. Peter was looking out the window with wide eyes when they pulled up to the airport but once he saw the plane he started to feel a bit anxious. 

A small, childish part of him wished that Mr. Stark was there with him so he would at least have the man that he’s grown somewhat close to near him but then he thought that even if Mr. Stark was there with him, Peter was Spider-Man, not Peter Parker. 

So he would have to suck up the anxiety and fear that was building inside of him and get this plane ride over with. 

He exited the car with Happy and they continued to be silent as Happy handed him his bags out of the trunk and then the man started walking towards the plane so Peter followed him. 

It was weird. His very first time on a plane and it’s a private one. He wondered what a normal plane would be like, if he’d have the same experience on it or not. Probably not considering this is Tony Stark's private plane and all. 

“You can put your stuff up here.” Happy said and Peter turned around to see Happy pointing to a storage place above some of the seats. 

Peter did as he was told and struggled more than he would like to admit. Yeah sure he was Spider-Man and all but he was still short for his age and had a bit of difficulty reaching the top to put his bags inside. Thankfully it didn’t look like Happy saw him because he looked more concerned on sitting down and getting comfortable. 

Once Peter was done, he took a seat in front of Happy in one of the opposite seats. Happy opened his eyes and looked at him suspiciously. “Really? Are you really going to pick that spot to sit in?” 

“Um…?” Peter suddenly felt really uncomfortable. He looked around the plane and there were a bunch of other spots he could have chosen but he didn’t want to be rude and sit somewhere else. Plus he wanted the comfort of another person near him but apparently that was too much to ask for. 

“Fine. You stay. I’ll sit somewhere else.” Happy grumbled as he got up and walked over to a seat by the bathroom. 

Peter clasped his hands in his lap as he sat on the edge of the seat. He felt a tad sad at what just happened but he didn’t let it bug him for very long because the plane started to move and make a lot of loud noises that were really hurting his ears. 

He sat back in his seat and looked over at Happy who had his eyes closed and looked completely unbothered by what was going on. 

Since Happy couldn’t see him, Peter covered his ears with his hands and squeezed his eyes shut hard. Happy wasn’t watching him but it wasn’t like the man could see his face anyways. 

Peter tried to control his breathing and not freak out too much. His head felt like it was going to explode with the pressure of getting higher up and he guessed that since the man sitting on the other side of the plan looked perfectly content that it was just his spider senses that were making it painful for him. 

Plus the fact that he’s alone with no one to comfort him on his very first plane ride. Not the best combos. 

Eventually after they had been in the air for awhile, Peter removed his hands from his ears and opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure how long he had his eyes closer for and how long they had been in the air but he was sure that it was quite a while because Peter could hear Happy snoring loudly in the other seat. 

Peter looked around the plane and saw that no one else was there. It was just him and Happy. And of course the pilots but he couldn’t see them. 

With one quick motion, Peter pulled his mask off his head and opened the plane’s window screen to look outside. It was pitch back out so he couldn’t see anything but his own reflection staring back at him which scared him at first. 

Peter shut the window screen with a pout. Of course his first time on a plane and he can’t even look outside at the clouds and see how high up they are. 

.  
.  
.

Peter’s ears were killing him. 

They hurt so badly to the point where it actually brought tears to his eyes and he had to bite his cheek to stop the sad whimpers from escaping his lips. 

He had put his mask back on in fear of Happy waking up and seeing him but that wasn’t helping much at all. 

Peter let out a loud whimper and immediately stood up to run into the bathroom. He had some difficulty at first with whether it was a push or pull plus he had tears blinding his vision from the fear and pain of being in the stupid airplane with no one there to comfort him. 

Once he got into the bathroom, Peter tugged his mask off and sunk down to his butt on the floor. There wasn’t much space but he would still have tucked himself into a ball even if there was a lot of space. 

Peter wrapped his arms around himself and rocked back and forth in a poor attempt to self comfort. 

He buried his face into his knees and tried to picture being anywhere but on the plane by himself. He knew he had Happy but the man obviously didn’t want to have anything to do with him. He did debate waking up Happy and telling the man that he was scared and his ears hurt but he was supposed to be Spider-Man. He wasn’t a child plus what would Happy do for him? Nothing. 

So Peter closed just eyes and tried to think about being at home with May and watching a movie together on the couch or being in the lab with Mr. Stark. He felt a bit more relaxed at that, if Mr. Stark were here now and if he was just Peter Parker then Peter wouldn’t be shy to tell the man what was going on and hopefully he would have gotten some comfort out of that. 

Peter shut his eyes and tried to think about feeling safe with Mr. Stark when he felt himself drift off into unconsciousness. 

Peter woke up to someone banging on the bathroom door. Happy. “Spider-Man? Are you good? We’re landing in five so come sit down.” 

Peter quickly stood up and tried to wipe the sleep and tear marks on his face but then he remembered that he was wearing his mask when he was in front of Happy so he put it back on and opened the bathroom door. 

“Um… hi. Excuse me.” Peter said awkwardly then manoeuvred his way around Happy so he could sit back down in his seat, completely oblivious to Happys concerned look he was giving him. 

This time, Happy sat across from him. “As soon as we get to the hotel I’m dropping you off so you’re Tony’s problem.” 

Peter didn’t know if the man was joking or not but he shrank in on himself a bit. He was a problem? But he hadn’t annoyed the man at all, right? He made sure to not wake Happy up even after he really really wanted to and he bit his cheeks so he wasn’t loud with his whimpers from the ear pain. 

Nonetheless, Peter nodded his head in understanding. 

Happy continued. “Tony will debrief you on the fight when you get to the hotel.” 

Peter nodded again. So Mr. Stark was going to meet him there then. He hoped that the man would have been there after he got off the plane but at least he would see him eventually. 

The plane landing was a lot less smooth than when the plane took off but Peter was just grateful that they were finally on the ground after the long flight. 

As he stepped outside, all of his fears and pain from before were instantly gone. Berlin was beautiful. Well, at least the airport was beautiful but maybe it was just because he was in a different country for the first time ever and he knew that so everything was going to be different and beautiful to him. 

“Woah.” He muttered under his breath and then there was a hard hand pushing him to walk down the steps so he started but then forgot his bags. “Wait-” 

“I have your bags now walk.” Happy ordered and Peter was actually afraid of the man. Maybe Happy didn’t like him and that’s why he’s being so rude to him. Or maybe that’s just how he is. 

The car ride from the airport to the hotel was pretty much the same as it was in New York. 

Happy barely said a word as he drove the car but Peter didn’t care since he was too busy looking out the window at the new sights. He spent his whole fourteen years of life looking at the same streets everyday, the same buildings, same stores and now he was in a whole different country and everything was just so… beautiful. 

“I’m pulling around the back so we can walk up without anybody seeing you.” Happy announced to him as he pulled up to the back of the hotel. Peter didn’t get a chance to see the front but he was sure it was fancy if Tony Stark was staying here. Would Tony be staying at the same hotel as him?

Once the car was parked, Peter got out and was sure to grab his backpack and his bag first since he didn’t put it in the trunk this time and then followed Happy up the back stairs. 

He was looking around at everything with wide curious eyes and all he wanted to do was talk out loud about how cool this was but he didn’t want to talk since his voice would most likely give him away if he said all that. 

They got to an elevator and rode to the twenty-second floor before getting out. Peter was following closely behind Happy and reading out the German words that he passed by in his head until he heard a very familiar voice that almost made him want to cry because he was so happy that the man was here. 

“If it isn’t my good friend, Spidey.” Tony said from leaning against one of the hotel doors as he said something quietly to Happy that even Peter couldn’t pick up on before Tony was walking over to him. 

Peter was so happy that Tony was here that he had to stop himself from bouncing on the balls of his feet. “H-hi.” Peter cleared his throat. “Hi.” 

“How was the flight? Did you like my jet? It’s nice, huh?” Tony asked him as he put an arm over his shoulder and went to pull him close to his side like he always does but this time he stopped halfway and let go quickly but Peter was already leaning into the comfort so he had to catch his balance a bit. 

“Um… yeah. It was good.” Peter lied but Tony didn’t know Spider-Man so he couldn’t tell that he was lying, right? 

Tony didn’t seem to notice as he clapped his hands together and walked over to Happy, Peter followed closely behind. 

“Can I have the room keys, Hap?” Tony held out his hand for them then Happy handed one pair over. 

Peter couldn’t contain his excitement at the thought of him and Tony being roommates but then he thought about how he was wearing his mask and he wasn’t Peter Parker right now. “We’re roommates?” He asked anyways and hated how the excitement in his voice was obvious. 

Both adults paused to look at him and Peter shrank in on himself. He tried not to show how uncomfortable he was and thankfully he didn’t have to for long because Tony started talking again. 

“No. I’m across the hall from you guys. We’re neighbours.” Tony pressed the key card and then opened the door, gesturing for Peter to walk into the room before waving bye to Happy and following Peter in. 

Everything was just too much for Peter. He wanted to jump around the hotel and open all the doors to see where they led to but that’s what kids did right? He couldn’t do that in front of Mr. Stark. 

Tony crossed his arms and walked more into the room. “So, here we are.” 

Peter put his bags down and stood awkwardly. “Yeah. Uh… Happy said that you’re going to tell me what’s going to happen now?” 

Tony sighed. He really didn’t want to bring this kid into the fight anymore. Seeing him here made it real. He actually brought a child to fight the Avengers. He was crazy and he was really regretting it and he was mentally debating with himself if he should pull Peter out. 

He doesn’t know how the kid would take that though. “We’re fighting the Avengers. Don’t worry, no one will go too hard on you.” Tony hoped they wouldn’t at least. 

He could practically see the eye roll that Peter gave even with his mask on. Tony was looking the kid up and down to try and figure out all the little details on the suit. He was still dying to know. 

“I can take it.” Peter said with too much confidence that Tony scuffed and then moved to leave the room. He had things to get done. 

“You should get some sleep. It’s early morning in New York plus you need to be well rested.” Tony opened the hotel door then paused and turned back to Peter. “I need you on top of your game.” 

At that, Tony turned and left the hotel room leaving Peter alone again. 

Peter sighed and pulled his mask off. 

Tony didn’t tell him anything and he was too scared to ask because if he spoke then Tony might figure out why his voice is so familiar so now he was going into the fight blind. 

So much for Tony staying. 

He let out a yawn and rubbed his eye with a fist before realizing just how tired he was. He hadn’t slept at all last night even though it’s technically the next day? Confusing. Especially for someone who’s never been jet lagged before. 

Peter took off his suit and dug in his bag until he found some pyjamas. They were blue and had little science equipment all over them. He then grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, thankful that he remembered to bring it then he went into the bathroom to shower and get into his pyjamas. 

He felt so alone. 

Everything felt so off and he was feeling really anxious for some reason. It made him feel better that Tony was across the hall but he doubted that the man was even in his room. 

Happy slept the whole plane ride so he was probably with Tony doing important stuff. 

He shut the curtains so that he could actually get some sleep without it being extremely bright and gave the sun shining in his eyes. 

Peter then sighed and flopped onto the bed. It was extremely comfortable and big. He stretched out like a starfish and he still wasn’t covering the whole thing. 

Peter got under the blankets and looked up at the ceiling. He really missed May. He hadn’t ever been this far away from her and it was really starting to hit him. He rolled onto his side and hugged a pillow to his chest to try and stop the separation anxiety from May get to him too much as he tried to fall asleep. 

.  
.  
.

Tony had been to meeting after meeting since he got to Germany. 

His head was killing him but getting some free time to see the kid and to make sure he was okay really helped to calm him down. Weird. And it wasn’t even free time, it was time that he freed up himself just so he could see Peter. 

It was nice to see Peter though, despite how mad a bunch of old men were at him for missing out on the meeting he was supposed to go to instead. 

It was now just after 2pm and Tony was finally done for the day with meetings. Well, for now. He assumed that he had a bunch more he had to go to before the day us over but as of right now he was free. 

He walked into the elevator of the hotel and knocked on Happys door who opened it instantly. Tony walked in and took off his tie and suit jacket. “Well I’m exhausted. Did you eat yet?” 

Happy resumed his spot on the bed, looking miserable that Tony was there to disrupt him. “I ate when we first got here then I fell asleep.” 

Tony sat on the other side of the bed and opened up the menu. “Did you check on the kid? He has to eat.” 

Happy grumbled. “He’s sleeping.” 

Tony nodded. He’d have to get Peter to eat something after he wakes up. “I didn’t get a chance to ask you how he was on the flight. I know it was his first time. Did he cause you any trouble?”

Happy paused his show and sighed, probably knowing full well that Tony wasn’t leaving until they had their Peter talk. “The kid was fine. He was quiet which is odd considering Peter isn’t quiet. I think I like Spider-Man more.” 

Tony smacked Happy with the menu then got off the bed. “Don’t be rude. You order some food while I go check on the kid and put the spider case in his room.” 

Tony got off the bed and went into his room, grabbed the case that held the Spider-Man suit that he made for the kid then he quietly knocked on Peter’s hotel door just to see if Peter was awake. 

When Tony didn’t hear anything from inside and there was no Peter opening the door, he pulled out his set of the room key card and opened Peter’s door, quietly shutting it behind him. 

Tony walked into the quiet room and stopped when he saw Peter sound asleep on the bed. Peter was sleeping on his side with his arms stretched out in front of him and had one leg out of the blankets that was bent and the other leg was still inside the blankets. Tony had no idea how that happened but it was cute nonetheless. 

He was tempted to run his hand through Peter’s mess of curls but he didn’t want that to accidentally wake the kid up so he resisted the urge. 

He looked around for somewhere to put the case but he didn’t want Peter to see it right when he wakes up because that would be obvious that someone was in his room so Tony opened another door that lead to another part of the room and set it on the table, leaving a little note behind. 

Tony then walked back into the dark room and walked over to Peter’s head. He was still tempted to touch his hair but he couldn’t do that. Tony was thinking of covering Peter with the blankets so that he would be warmer and more comfortable but he also didn’t want that to wake Peter up. 

At that moment, Tony realized that he was standing over Peter and watching him sleep like a pedophile so he went to leave the room but then Peter was letting out a whimper and was rolling onto his back. 

Tony froze. He waited, expected, Peter to open his eyes and catch him but he didn’t. Instead Peter let out a few broken whimpers and rolled onto his back so that his arms were above his head and his legs were stretched out. 

Tony took that as his cue to leave. He was way too close to Peter waking up and seeing him. He probably would have tried to play it off as Peter dreaming and tried to put him back to sleep then playing it off like nothing happened the next time Peter wakes up but he doesn’t even know if that would have worked. 

So he left the room as quietly as he came in and went back into Happy's room to hang out with him until he gets called in for another meeting before the fight starts in only a few hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at packing so Peter probably forgot something and it’s my fault. Also this chapter was a lot of back and forth so oops for that alsoooo I tried to imagine how scared peter would have been in that situation yea he’s excited because he’s going to Germany to fight the Avengers with iron man but like he’s still only fourteen years old and he’s travelling for the first time by himself and going to a new country by himself and he couldn’t really be himself because hes Spider-Man in that situation so I tried to show him scared but happy when he sees Tony there since comfortable in front of the man 
> 
> Alsooo the flight is about 8 hours and Germany is 6 hours ahead so it should be around 8am when they land but I still made peter sleep


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this chapter so I’m excited for you guys to read it:))

“No, I don’t care if that makes us outnumbered. I’m taking him out.” Tony stood up from the chair that he had been sitting in for the last hour and pointed his finger at both Natasha and Rhodey. 

He wasn’t mad at them. He was mad at himself for bringing the kid to fight a battle that he shouldn’t be fighting. 

“Tony, we need all the numbers we can get if you want to bring Barnes in.” Rhodey said tiredly. Tony could tell that his friend was exhausted but so was he and Spider-Man was his recruit so it was up to him whether or not Spider-Man joined the fight. 

“Not this one. We’ll find someone else.” Tony knew that wasn’t true. It would be nearly impossible to find someone else at such short notice now. 

Natasha crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair across from Tony as she silently eyed him up and down as if she were reading him like a book. He sat down and mirrored her expression. 

“What?” He asked her but she only shook her head. 

Tony remembers that she was there when Peter forgot his backpack at the tower that one day and how suspicious she had been of said bag. He wondered if she knew anything. If she knew who Peter was. Who Spider-Man really was. 

Rhodey pulled them attention back on him. “Tony. You can’t just bring Spider-Man to Germany and then tell him you don’t need him anymore when we really do. He’s willing to fight with us so why pull him out?” 

Tony debated telling the truth. He trusted both of them with the knowledge and knew that neither of them would hurt Peter if they knew how old he really was but he didn’t want to tell them. 

He didn’t want to get a lecture from Rhodey on how dangerous and irresponsible it was for him to bring a child all the way to Germany to fight with the Avengers. 

“We’ll be fine without him.” Tony tried again. “It’s not like any of us are out for blood, it won’t get to the point where we need any extra hands anyways.” 

Rhodey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke. “How about he stays on the sidelines until we need him? That way he can watch the battle and jump in if-”

Tony slammed his hands down on the table, cutting Rhodey off. “No! He stays out of this.” 

Rhodey still wasn’t lighting up and Tony was running out of options. “Tony, we need Spider-Man.” 

Tony shook his head. “No we don’t.” 

“Yes we do-” 

“Spider-Man is a fourteen year old boy.” Tony blurted out. He didn’t want to expose Peter’s identity but he was left with no other choice plus he trusted Natasha and Rhodey. 

Rhodey made that face he made whenever he was done with Tony’s bullshit. “What did you just say?” 

Tony peeked his hand away from his face to face his best friend. “Spider-Man is fourteen. He’s a child.” 

He looked over at Natasha who didn’t look at all surprised with the information. Figures. 

“So… so did you catch him changing in his hotel room and you saw his face or…?” Rhodey trailed off, obviously confused and concerned. 

Tony went to speak but Natasha spoke up. “He already knew way before he brought the kid here. Isn’t that right Stark?” 

He pointed at her. “Yep.” 

“Are you serious, Tony? You can’t possibly be this stupid.” Rhodey was standing up and pacing now and Tony wasn’t sure if it was because of Peter’s age or that now there’s a reason to not put him into the fight. 

“Hey, I can be plenty stupid.” Tony raised his arms up in defence. 

Rhodey didn’t look pleased with him at all. “You’re ridiculous, you know that? Why would you bring a child to Germany? What about his family? His parents?” 

Tony didn’t answer and Rhodey’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god. Is Spider-Man your kid?”

Tony wasn’t expecting that. He shook his head and laughed at the question. No way. “No. No no no. He’s not mine but he doesn’t have any family. I mean he has an Aunt but that’s it.” 

Rhodey looked relieved then sad and then angry again in a matter of a few seconds. “Don’t you dare tell me you made him.” 

“What? No, I just told you he’s not my kid-” 

Rhodey cut him off. “I mean Spider-Man. Did you pull an innocent child off the street to bake some… Avenger out of him?!” 

This time it was Tony’s turn to stand up. “What the fuck, Rhodey. Who do you think I am?” 

Natasha stood up and quickly walked over so that she was standing between both males. “Enough boys.” 

Tony gave his best friend a dirty look. Fuck Rhodey for even thinking he was capable of taking a child’s innocence and life just for his own benefit. Rhodey returned the look but he didn’t care. 

“The time is ticking so we don’t have much time left to be fighting over this.” Natasha started. “Look, the kid is here and he’s Spider-Man so he can come but he stays on the sidelines like Rhodey said. He stays out of the fight unless he’s needed and we’ll all keep our eye on him the whole time. Sound good, Stark?” 

Tony didn’t like that idea but it would have to do. If they had more time then he would have fought against it but he didn’t have time to fight with Natasha and Rhodey and then explain to Peter that he can’t join him anymore before he actually has to join in on the real fight. 

“Fine. But I want you guys to watch him.” Tony waited for them to agree before continuing. “Also he doesn’t actually know that he’s Spider-Man.” 

“What?” Both Rhodey and Natasha said at the same time. 

Tony sighed. “The kid doesn’t know that I know that he’s really Spider-Man. I know the person out of the suit but he doesn’t know I know that he’s the same person.” 

Tony had to admit that it was a bit confusing. 

“Well if he didn’t even tell you then how do you actually know that Spider-Man isn’t actually a twenty seven year old man?” Rhodey asked, clearly still mad at Tony. 

“I just know. Plus I went into his room last night and saw the kid sleeping coincidentally in the same room I left Spider-Man in so there’s that.” Tony explained tiredly. He started walking towards the door of the boardroom. He had a kid to feed and get dressed. 

.  
.  
.

Peter woke up and rubbed his eyes. 

He let out a loud yawn as he stretched in the big bed. That was probably the best sleep that he has ever gotten in his entire life. The bed was huge and a perfect level of comfort. 

He rolled onto his stomach and grabbed his phone off the nightstand table. He had it on airplane mode since he was scared of it using data and May getting a long distance phone bill from Germany but he was still able to check the time which read 5:35pm. Hmm he slept a decent amount of time which is rare for him between school, homework and Spider-Man. 

He rolled back onto his back and kicked the blankets off so that he could get out of bed. After brushing his teeth in the bathroom which was weird since it wasn’t technically morning but it still was, weird time zones, he then went pee and just as he was washing his hands there was a knock on the door. 

Peter froze. 

He walked out of the bathroom and looked around for his suit or at least his mask but then he decided to ask who was there because if it was anyone but Happy or Tony then he could answer it without needing his suit. 

“Um… who is it?” He called out, hating how high his voice was. 

“It’s Tony. You gonna open the door or keep me waiting out here?” 

Peter mentally cursed. He looked around frantically for his mask. Where did he put it? 

He found it on the dresser and quickly put it on before opening the door and looking up at Mr. Stark with wide eyes hidden behind the mask. He stepped aside to let the man in and then realized what he was wearing. 

His pyjamas screamed I’m a child so he looked around for something to try and cover himself with but didn’t find anything so he awkwardly stood behind an orange ugly looking chair to try and block some of it at least. It didn’t look like Tony noticed. 

“I brought you some food before we have to go.” Tony said and placed the bag of McDonald’s on the table. 

Peter’s mouth watered at the sight. He didn’t even know that Germany had McDonald’s but he guessed that everywhere in the world did. 

“Are we leaving soon?” Peter asked. If he wasn’t keeping his identity from Tony hidden then he would have already been digging in the bag. 

Tony sat down on the chair, Peter could tell that he looked exhausted. “I am. You on the other hand are not.” 

Peter tilted his head in confusion. Was he not going with Tony? All he had to do was change into his suit and then he was ready. 

“I have to do a few things first so I’ll meet you there. After you eat and get ready, Happy will drive you.” Tony explained and ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I know this isn’t your first fight or whatever but it’s gonna be your first big fight so you listen to me out there. If I tell you to only go after Cap then you only go after Cap. If I tell you to stay down then you stay down. You listen to me and stay close to me, do you understand?” 

Peter stood up straighter and nodded his head. He didn’t know why Mr. Stark was being so mean to him. He knew the man had his business personality that Peter had never seen before but now he was seeing it and he didn’t like it. 

Tony crossed his arms. “I’m gonna need a yes or a no from you, Spidey.” 

Peter nodded his head again. “Y-yes, sir. I understand.” 

“Good. I’ll see you once you get there. Eat up.” Tony motioned towards the McDonald’s bag before he left the hotel room. 

As soon as the door shut, Peter turned just to double check that Tony was gone before he took his mask off. That was weird. Tony never spoke to him so seriously like that. He would hate to get on Tony Stark's bad side. Just the thought sent a shiver down his spine. 

Peter took a step towards the McDonald’s bag and looked inside. He saw three cheese burgers, three fries and a drink. He didn’t know how Tony knew about his speedy metabolism but he was glad that the man did in fact know. 

Peter quickly ate two of the burgers and one of the fries before he was too full to eat anymore. Normally he would have eaten it all with no problem but he was feeling a bit worried and anxious about the fight. 

Still no one really told him anything. He just knew that Captain America went all crazy and something about his best friend but that’s all he knew. It didn’t seem like any reason to fight over but obviously there was way more to the story. 

Once Peter was done, he took off his pyjamas and put on his Spider-Man suit as he hyped himself up in the mirror. 

This was it. This was a way that he could prove to Mr. Stark that he was more than just a kid, not that Tony knew that and he would never find out but he still felt like he had to prove himself. 

“Okay, Peter. Okay, Spider-Man. You got this. You got this.” Peter whispered roll himself in the mirror. He wasn’t sure if his stomach was twisting from nerves or excitement. 

There was a knock at the door and then it was being opened. Peter frowned behind his mask because what if he wasn’t in his suit or what if he had been in the process of changing into his suit? Not cool. 

He turned towards the door expecting to see Mr. Stark but it was Happy. 

“What the hell are you wearing?” Happy asked in a rushed tone. 

Peter glanced down at himself and shrugged. “It’s my suit.” 

Happy only stared at him for a few seconds before shaking his head and gesturing for Peter to walk towards him. “Where’s the case?” 

Peter had no idea what he was talking about. “What case?” 

Happy looked around the hotel room and then opened a door that Peter thought was a closet the whole time. Woah, his room is way bigger than he thought. 

When Peter slowly walked into the room, Happy pushed him inside to hurry up. Peter could tell the man was annoyed with him but he didn’t know why. “Go please.” 

Peter quickly rushed into the room and saw the case sitting on the table in the middle of the room. It was a silver case that looked fairly large. 

Excitement filled up inside of him and he had to stop himself from bouncing on the halls of his feet in front of Happy. He stepped towards the case. “I found the case.” 

“Open it and put it on. Let’s go.” Happy grumbled. 

Peter was too excited and giddy to care about the fact that he was probably pissing the man off. He picked up a piece of paper on top of the case and read it. 

A minor upgrade.   
-TS

He unlocked the case and took a step back when it opened itself up and revealed what looked like a new Spider-Man suit. “Woah. Oh my god.” 

Happy appeared at his side. “Put it on.” 

Peter looked between the new suit and Happy a few times before settling on the suit. It looked amazing. Mr. Stark had actually taken time to make him a brand new suit and even though Peter liked his current suit he knew that it was nothing compared to how much more amazing and advanced his new Spider-Man suit was going to be. 

Peter barely registered Happy leaving the room and shutting what Peter thought was a closet door behind him. Peter took this time to quickly strip out of his current suit and mask and pull his new suit out of the case. 

It felt so cool. The material was almost indescribable. Not like anything he’s ever felt before. 

Peter pulled the whole thing out of the case and held it up in front of him. It looked a bit big and then he thought how there was no way for Mr. Stark to have known what his size would be so maybe the genius over guessed his size and now his new suit wouldn’t fit him. 

There was only one way to find out. 

Peter stepped into the suit, first putting his legs in and then his arms. It looked in the mirror that was in front of him. He looked pathetic, the suit hung off of him like a giant onesie. He looked down at himself and then into the case and saw another note. 

Press the spider on your chest

Peter found the spider and pressed it. Suddenly the suit was shrinking in on himself so that it was skintight. It felt like it hugged him in the best way. 

He looked at himself in the mirror and couldn’t help the grin that broke out across his face. He actually looked like Spider-Man and the best part was that Mr. Stark made it for him. No, the best part was that he got to test out his new suit in front of Iron Man and all of the other Avengers. 

Peter did in quick few flips out of pure excitement but also to feel how his suit would feel. It felt so cool. 

There was more knocking at the door so Peter grabbed the mask and put it on. It pulled the whole suit together. Another smile broke out across his face at seeing himself in the mirror, he wanted to give Tony a hug just for all the time and effort he put into his new suit but he knew he couldn’t do that. 

“Are you dressed? Let’s go, hurry up.” Happy said annoyed and looked Peter up and down before holding out his arm in a silent demand for Peter to walk faster. 

“I can’t believe Mr. Stark made this for me.” Peter said excitedly but then remembered that he can’t be talking that much. He saw Happy glare at him for a few seconds before he continued to walk down the hallway of the hotel. Peter was scared that he possibly ruined everything by speaking but he thankfully didn’t. 

When they got down to the back exit, Happy held the door open for him to walk out and then they made a quick dash into the black car that was parked outside. 

Happy practically pushed Peter into the backseat of the car and slammed the door before getting in himself, starting the car and driving away. 

Peter couldn’t contain his excitement. He only half noticed that he was bouncing up and down in his seat but that was also due to the fact that he was hyping himself up for what was about to happen. 

The car ride to wherever they were going wasn’t too long because before he knew it, Happy was announcing that they were there so Peter looked out the window. There seemed to be what looked like an abandoned airport or something. He looked around for any Avengers or even Iron Man but he didn't see any of them. 

Happy parked the car in an underground parking place that was a bit sketchy. If he didn’t trust the man he would have thought that Happy brought him there just to hurt him but he knew Happy would never do that because he was Tony Stark's bodyguard. 

Speaking of Tony Stark, Peter looked out the window and saw Tony walking towards the car. Where had he come from? 

Peter also noticed freaking Black Widow and War Machine walking with his mentor. The only person who was already suited up was Black Widow and Peter beamed. Technically she was a spider just like him meaning that they were family. 

Peter opened up the back seat door before Happy could do it for him and then he stepped out. Standing in front of the freaking Avengers dressed in a suit that Tony Stark made for him was like a dream come true. He wanted to punch himself to see if he was in fact dreaming but he didn’t think he could even grab some of his fat through the suit since it was too thick. 

“Looking good, Spider-Man.” Tony said was he put both hands on Peter’s shoulders and looked down at him. 

“T-thank you. And thank you for my suit, Mr. Stark. I love it.” Peter tried not to make his voice go high but it was inevitable at this point between his nerves and excitement. 

“I’m glad you like it.” Tony smiled at him and then let go of his shoulders and moved to stand by his side instead. “I’m sure you already know who they are but I’ll be nice and introduce you. This is Rhodey and Natasha and Rhodey and Natasha, this is Spider-Man.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Spider-Man.” War Machine said to Peter and Peter has to stop himself from tapping Tony on the side just to ask if he saw what just happened. 

Black Widow only nodded her head at him and kept her eyes on him but Peter was too excited to care. 

Happy patted Tony on the shoulder and Tony moved so that he was facing Happy. Peter unconsciously moved closer to Tony out of comfort because the man was keeping him grounded and made him feel safe even if he knew that Mr. Rhodey and Ms. Natasha wouldn’t hurt him. 

“Are you good here, Boss?” Happy asked Tony and Tony nodded. 

“Yeah. You can go… stay close though.” Tony and Happy stared at each other and had some sort of silent conversation before Tony turned back around and bumped into Peter, not expecting him to be standing that close. “Woah.” 

“Sorry.” Peter stumbled away from Tony and looked over at the two others who were watching him. 

Tony placed his hand on his shoulder again. “Okay. Listen up. Here’s our play,”

.  
.  
.

Peter was crouched down in his position that Mr. Stark had brought him to over ten minutes ago. 

He could now see all of the Avengers standing off in the distance and he could barely make out what they were talking about but Tony had told him when his cue to swing in was so he was listening for that. 

He could see Captain America talking with his mentor and some new guy who’s he’s never seen before. It was so cool to be in such close proximity to some of his childhood idols. 

“Underoos!” Mr. Stark yelled and that was Pete’s cue to swing in. He got a tingle of excitement in him before he jumped into the air, swinging off of an airplane wing and webbing the shield of his arms just before webbing his hands together. 

Peter felt a wave of pride wash over him as he stuck the landing. He knew he could have done a little better in his old suit just because he wasn’t 100% used to the new one yet. 

The shield was also a lot heavier than he ever imagined it would be. If he weren’t Spider-Man then he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to hold it up on his arm like he was doing. 

Peter glanced over at Tony who was watching him. He didn’t look happy but Peter knew that was because of the situation and not because of him. 

“You’ve been busy.” Steve commented and Tony turned his attention from Peter back to Steve. 

“And you’ve been a complete idiot.” Tony said with venom to his voice. “Dragging in Clint. Rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn’t even want to leave. A safe place.” Tony paused. “I’m trying to keep… I’m trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart.” 

Steve didn’t look impressed. “You did that when you signed.” 

Peter looked back at Tony who looked like he was about to flip. “Alright we’re done. You’re gonna turn Barnes over and you’re gonna come with us. Now because it’s us or a squad of JSOC guys with no compunction about being impolite.”

Tony looked almost desperate as he spoke and Peter didn’t understand how serious the situation really was. 

“Come on.” Tony said quietly. 

Peter watched with wide eyes as Captain America lifted his arms up into the air and then an arrow cane out of nowhere and shot through Peter’s webs. Hmm, he didn’t think that was possible. 

Just as he was about to stand up from his position, his spider sense tingle and he looked at the shield in his arm. 

“Hey, guys I think some-” Peter didn’t get to finish his sentence because something was kicking him in the face and causing him to fall on his back. Ow. That hurt. 

That’s when everything went to hell. 

Peter tried to listen to what Tony had told him about sticking near him and blah blah blah. The fight was elsewhere plus Mr. Stark was in the air for the majority of the time so how did the man expect Peter to stick close to him. 

Since that plan went out the window, Peter decided to follow Falcon and some other guy that he didn’t know but he was sure that that guy was Captain America’s best friend. 

Peter smashed through the glass and kicked Falcon out of the way but right as he went to turn towards the other guy, he went to punch him but Peter blocked the guys punch by grabbing his arm and wait - “Woah! You have a metal arm?! That is awesome, dude-”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Falcon flew into him and Peter could feel that the Falcon was trying to carry him somewhere to possibly drop but Peter pushed himself out of the guys arms before that could happen. 

The rest of the fighting that happened with Falcon and… the other guy was pretty easy and kinda fun if Peter was being honest. The whole thing was pretty fun. He was sure that he was the only one who thought that. 

After webbing them up but getting attacked by some type of drone and getting carried into the air by it, Peter finally had the situation handled. He felt very proud of himself for webbing up two Avengers, well, definitely one Avenger but he wasn’t sure the guy with the metal arm was an Avenger. 

Peter even came toe to toe with Captain America. 

He was too excited to even be upset at the fact that he practically got his ass beaten by Captain America. The storage container that he threw on top of him was heavy but Peter likes that it made him test his strength. It was heavy but bearable and that made him wonder how much he could actually lift. 

By the time that the new guy had turned big, Peter was starting to get a little tired. He had never had to use so much of his abilities in such a long span of time before. He knew he could still continue on for a long time but he was just starting to feel a bit tired. 

Peter crawled up the back of the giant man and tried to look inside his mask. He could see Iron Man and War Machine flying in the air, trying to figure out a way to take the giant guy down when Peter got an idea. 

It was a great idea. He knew the name of the movie with the walking thingies but he didn’t want anyone to know that so he played dumb a bit. 

Either way both Mr. Stark and Mr. Rhodey liked his idea and it was working until the giant guys arm hit him and sent him flying into the air. 

Peter felt his breath get knocked out of him so he didn’t even have time to register what was happening before he was landing on a pile of some boxes and rolling onto the concrete ground until he came to a rough stop and then everything went black. 

Tony saw the kid go flying and his heart stopped. 

He tried to fly to the kid before he hit the ground but he was too far away and it seemed like everything happened in slow motion. 

He watched as Peter landed on a pile of boxes and then continued to roll onto the ground before coming to a stop. 

Tony waited with panicked breaths for Peter to get up and walk it off but the kid wasn’t doing much of anything. He was just lying there still and it scared Tony shitless. 

All he could think about was how he shouldn’t have brought Peter to Germany with him. He should have told Peter that he knew he was Spider-Man grim the very beginning and stop the kid from continuing to be the stupid super hero. 

Tony landed on the ground with a loud thud and retracted his face mask as he made his way over to the kid. 

“Kid? You okay?” Tony quickly kneeled down beside Peter, his heart pounding in his chest. 

“FRIDAY, read vitals.” Tony asked desperately. 

“Spider-Man is alive but unconscious.” FRIDAY supplied and Tony felt himself sigh with relief. 

He placed his hands on Peter’s sides and tried to shake him awake. The kids mask was half on his face but that didn’t matter. 

“Kid? Peter.” Tony was too panicked to care. He needed to see the kids big brown eyes. 

Peter came to with a fight. He grabbed onto Tony’s arms, thinking that it was someone from the opposite team ready to hurt him but it was just Tony. Wait, had Tony just called him Peter or had he imagined that?

“Hey. Same side. It’s me, you’re okay.” Tony grabbed o to the kids flaring arms to try and calm him. Damn, the kid was strong. 

Tony looked into the one eye that was visible due to the mask being half off the kids face. He was done and he needed to get Peter out of the battlefield. “You’re done, Peter. Do you understand?” 

Peter didn’t understand. He pushed himself away from Tony and crawled backwards. How did Tony know? No. No, this was not happening. Peter could feel his heart pounding in his chest. 

He lifted a hand up to his face and felt that it was half off so he pulled the whole thing down so that his whole face was covered. He looked at Tony. 

“You’re done. I’m gonna have Happy come and get you then he’ll take you back to the hotel. I’ll be there later.” Tony explained before he was putting his face mask back down and walking away but Peter ignored his aching head and left side as he stood up and grabbed onto the metal of Tony’s hand. 

“No. What are you doing?” Peter didn’t know what he was doing. He didn’t understand how Tony found out but it didn’t seem that he was mad. What was going on?

Tony turned around so fast as he grabbed Peter’s wrist and gave him a tiny shove back. “You’re done. Stay down, Peter.” 

Peter shrank in on himself as he felt tears burn his eyes. No. No. There was no way Tony knew the truth now. He couldn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when Happy was telling peter to put the suit on I actually wrote that with no intention of copying the actual movie then I watched the video and realized I actually got it almost word for word without trying also I didn’t add Peter’s full dialogue from the movie because I felt like that’s what a kid would say and Pete’s trying not to be like that because he doesn’t want anyone to know he’s actually a child


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hii guys:) how are uuuuu all?¿

Happy found him waiting by a concrete wall that looked like it was about to collapse at any second but Peter didn’t even care as he sat under it. 

When Happy pulled the car next to him and opened the back door for him to crawl in, Peter didn’t say anything and thankfully Happy didn’t either. 

Peter kept his mask on and wrapped his arms around his stomach to try and hug himself since no one else was there to do that for him. He bit his lip to try and stop the tears from falling. 

The car ride was silent. Peter wondered if Tony had told Happy who Spider-Man really was or if he had left that part out. Peter didn’t think it would even matter if Tony had told Happy but it didn’t seem like he did because he was sure Happy would have said something to him then. 

When they got to the hotel, Peter wanted nothing more than to rip the suit off and crawl under the beds blankets so when Happy parked the car, Peter was out of the backseat and making his way inside before Happy could stop him. 

Happy thankfully didn’t say anything but he kept a close distance all the way up to their rooms. Peter was sure at that point that Happy knew but it didn’t matter anymore. 

He didn’t have his keycard on him so he had to wait for Happy to open his door for him before he was pushing the door open, walking inside and shutting it behind him. 

Peter waited a few moments to see if Happy would come in after him and when he didn’t, Peter pulled the mask off his head with a sob. 

Tony knows I’m Spider-Man and now he’s going to take both of my suits away. 

That thought played over and over again in his mind and no matter how hard he tried to think of something else, it was impossible. 

Peter tried to get out of the suit and momentarily freaked out when it wasn’t coming off but then he remembered how he got it on and pressed the spider on his chest. The suit fell off of him immediately so he stepped out of it and leaned onto his bed. 

This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. He was supposed to make Mr. Stark proud of him and show him what he was capable of and now-now Mr. Stark knew he was Spider-Man and he was probably coming to take both suits away from him. 

Peter’s life was ruined. Nothing would be the same anymore and just thinking about that had him crying even more into the blankets. 

He lifted his head up after wiping away some of his tears and snot onto the blankets and realized that his bed was made meaning that the cleaning people probably came in to clean his room. 

Peter thought about his homemade Spider-Man suit that was sitting on the floor in the other room. He slid off the bed and walked into the room finding it untouched. Peter ran to his suit and picked it up, holding it close to his chest as if someone would snatch it out of his arms right there. 

Peter then walked back into his room and gently put his suit on the orange chair. He grabbed some grey sweatpants and a grey sweater from his black bag before putting it on and climbing back onto his bed but this time he pulled the blankets back so he could climb under it. 

He couldn’t think about anything else other than what would happen when Tony comes. About how the man is going to scream at him before taking his suit. 

.  
.  
.

Tony’s day kept getting worse by the minute. 

The panic he felt after he saw the kid getting knocked out of the sky hasn’t stopped since. 

The panic only increased when he watched his best friend get knocked out of the sky just because Vision was distracted and Tony wasn’t even sure that was possible. 

He had to ask FRIDAY to read the vitals for the second person he cares a lot about that day and he was starting to lose it. Tony just wanted to find out that Rhodey was going to be okay and then go talk to the kid. 

He stood in front of the windows in the hospital hallway, looking into the room where his best friend was laid up in bed asleep. 

Natasha walked up next to him. “How is he?” 

He paused. He didn’t want to say it because saying it would make it true. “He’s paralyzed from the waist down.” 

She didn’t say anything at first. “How’s your kid?” 

Tony was too tired to say anything snarky. “He’s not mine.” 

She ignored his weak protest. “How is he? I saw him get knocked out by Scott.” 

Tony winced at the memory. “He’s fine. He knows I know so I’m going to his hotel room after this.” 

She nodded. “He’s young. I could tell from the minute I saw him and how he stayed near you. He trusts you.” 

Tony was sure that that wasn’t true but if it was then it wasn’t anymore. “Well then he definitely doesn’t anymore.” 

She shrugged. “Make something up. Kids are gullible so he’ll believe anything you tell him.” 

Tony scuffed. “How do you think I got him here. I’m not lying to him again.” Tony knew he never lied to the kid but he definitely bent the truth quite a lot. 

“Either way you were right.” 

Now that got Tony’s attention. He turned to her. “Continue.” 

She rolled her eyes but continued. “You were right for wanting to take him out of the fight. I thought the same thing too after I met him but by that point I was just desperate for some extra hands that I totally forgot about the child under the mask.” 

Tony sometimes forgot about how Natasha was a trained spy and assassin and that she could read body language so she probably saw Peter act a certain way when they met in the parking garage that made her change her mind. He also knew that she started training at a younger age than Peter was so she had a small soft spot for children due to that. 

“I shouldn’t have brought him here to begin with.” Tony sighed. He knew right from the start that what he was doing was wrong. His Aunt thinks he’s in freaking Philadelphia right now not fighting with the Avengers in Germany. He was a horrible person. 

“Well you did bring him here and he is here so you should go check up on him right now.” Natasha walked into Rhodey’s room as she spoke. “I’ll stay here and call you if anything changes.” 

Tony didn’t say anything before he was leaving. 

His mind was racing with a million thoughts about Peter and Rhodey on the way to the hotel and all the way up in the elevator. 

Tony didn’t bother knocking on the door. He used his keycard and walked in, the door immediately shutting behind him. He heard Peter’s surprised sound on the bed from being frightened at the sudden new person in the room. 

Tony stepped into the hotel room more fully and spotted the discarded Spider-Man suit on the floor along with the mask. 

He looked at the bed and saw Peter looking at him. All Tony could see was the kids messed up hair and half of his face as he looked at him. He noticed that Peter must have been crying into his pillow because he was lying on his stomach holding himself up by his arms and his face was all red and blotchy. 

Tony leaned against the dresser, half sitting on it as he put his hands in his pocket and eyed the kid. 

Peter moved on the bed so that he was facing him and sitting on his butt, still half under the blankets. 

“Mr. Stark,” Peter said brokenky, almost pleading. 

Tony’s heart broke even more at that. He didn’t let Peter finish however because he needed to know if the kid had any broken bones. Knowing Peter wouldn’t ask for medical attention so he had to take a look for himself. 

He stood up and walked over to Peter, manually moving the blankets off of Peter so he could see his legs. The kid was looking up at him with wide eyes. 

“Take your shirt off.” Tony said, leaving no room for arguments but Peter was just like him in that sense. Stubborn as hell. 

“What? Why?” Peter asked, wrapping his arms around himself protectively. 

“I want to see if you’re okay. Shirt off.” Tony grabbed the hem of Peter’s grey sweater and tugged it but Peter pulled away from him. 

“I’m fine.” Peter lied. 

“Peter. I’m not playing with you. Take your shirt off or I’ll do it myself.” Tony warned. He had no problem having the suit come in here to hold down the kid while he makes sure that Peter is okay. Well, maybe he wouldn’t go that far since he would probably traumatize the kid if he did that. 

Peter seemed to decide if Tony was playing or not before he stood up with a sigh and pulled his sweater up to his neck. His ribs hurt on his left side but he was sure that he didn’t have any broken bones, just bruises. 

Tony looked at the kids torso. He ran a gentle hand down his left side, seeing it was littered with bruises. “Nothing feels broken.” 

Peter went to yank his sweater back down but Tony stopped him. “Told you.” 

Tony ignored that remark. “Anything else hurt?” 

Peter pulled down his shirt now that Tony wasn’t stopping him and then he sat on the bed. “I never said anything hurts.” 

Tony rolled his eyes, resuming his spot by the dresser. “Stop lying to me.” 

Peter knew that statement was directed at him lying to Tony about Spider-Man and only partially about his body hurting him. He looked down in shame. “Sorry.” 

Tony stayed silent and then Peter started speaking. “I just-I just got so scared that if you found out I was Spider-Man then you would take my suit away so I needed a way to be Spider-Man without you knowing.” 

Tony didn’t speak. He wanted to hear what Peter had to say first. “I-I need to protect Queens but I can’t do that if anyone knows how old I really am. I still have a bedtime so I know Aunt May won’t let go be Spider-Man if she ever found out and-and I was scared that you would have her side.” Peter paused. “Are you gonna take her side?” 

Tony didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure what to say or what side to take. Peter took his head and stood up to start pacing. “Oh no. You’re taking her side. No. I didn’t want you to find out anyways but then the mask fell off my face and you saw and now you’re gonna take Spider-Man away from me.” 

Peter was half talking to himself and half talking to Tony. 

Tony figured out in Peter’s rambling that the kid thought that he just found out about him being Spider-Man because of the mask. Tony forgot about that but it was basically what he expected. He debated on letting Peter continue believing his little story but he knew it was wrong of him to do that to the kid. 

“Kid,” Tony paused. He could see Peter looking up at him with pure curiosity in his eyes and maybe a little bit of trust in there. All he knew was that after he says what he’s about to say then Peter’s not going to trust him ever again after this. 

“I knew you were Spider-Man before I brought you here.” Tony said and Peter took a step away from him. 

He could see the wheels turning in the kids head. “Wha-what? What are you talking about?” 

Tony sighed. He owed Peter the truth. “I’ve been following you as Spider-Man for quite some time and then I sent that Stark Internship to your school.” 

If Peter looked surprised before then he definitely looked a lot more surprised now. And hurt. He seemed to be thinking about everything in his head as he stared at Tony. “So-so you… you knew I was Spider-Man from the very beginning? Since-since I first met you? From-from the letter I got from you?” 

Tony could see that Peter looked hurt and he hated himself for making the kid feel that way. He nodded his head. “Yeah. I knew you were smart because well, you made your homemade suit by yourself, although I didn’t know that at the time. Now I know you are smart but-” 

Peter cut off his rambling. “But that’s not the point. You didn’t send that letter into my school because you thought I was smart. You sent it because you knew I was Spider-Man.” 

It wasn’t a question but Tony nodded anyways. 

“Why-why didn’t you just tell me you knew I was Spider-Man from the very beginning?” Peter asked and Tony could tell that the kid was about to start crying. “W-why did you make me lie to you this w-whole time?” 

Tony honestly didn’t know why. “I… I wanted to see if you would tell me yourself I guess. And then you didn’t and I needed you here.” 

Tony could see the tears welling in Peter’s eyes and he felt sick. He didn’t mean for anything to turn out like this. Everything went to complete shit. “Peter, I’m sorry.” 

He went to stand up to comfort the boy which was way out of his own comfort level but before he could even make it to Peter’s side, the kid was pushing away from him. “No! N-no. Don’t touch me. I don’t want you to come near me. You lied to me and-and you made me l-lie to you and now-now I feel so stupid because of you. Because you-you could have just told me from the beginning and it w-would have been so much easier but no! You lied to me.” 

Tony couldn’t take it. Peter was saying some pretty true stuff, he had lied to the kid. Over and over again from the very first day he met him. Every time he saw the kid he was lying to him and now he broke the trust. Him and the kid would never have the same relationship again and that broke him. 

He didn’t know what to say so he didn’t say anything at all. 

He watched as Peter tried to wipe aggressively at the tears that were pouring that his face but he didn’t have much luck since more kept falling. After a few attempts, Peter gave up. 

He threw himself into the bed and let out a few open sobs as he covered himself with the blankets. Tony ran a hand down his face. Shit. Fuck. 

“Peter, please.” He didn’t know what he was asking Peter for. For forgiveness? To look at him? “I’m sorry.” 

Peter kicked his feet under the blankets. “Go away! I want to go home and I don’t w-want to see you again.” 

Tony's heart broke. Oh yeah, they were in a foreign country where Peter’s never been before, away from his Aunt and now he was alone since he didn’t have anyone else. 

Tony left the room without saying another word. 

As soon as he got into the hallway, he leaned against the door and let out a sigh. He did not expect the night to turn out like this. 

He debated knocking on Happys door to talk to him about what had just happened but he pushed that thought out of his mind almost as soon as it had come. He was way too tired to talk to anyone so he went back to his own room across the hall. 

He kicked off his shoes by the door and made a beeline for the shower. Maybe a hot shower could make him feel a bit better and maybe get rid of his pounding headache. 

The shower did little to help Tony although it still helped a bit so that was something. He wanted to go check on Peter but he decided not to, he knew the kid didn’t want to see him. 

Tony fell back onto his bed with a sigh. He lay there for a few minutes with his eyes closed and actually considered falling asleep right then and there but he had things he had to do first. 

Sitting up, Tony pulled his phone off the nightstand table and sent off a text to Natasha to see if Rhodey was still okay. Seeing that his friend was in fact okay and still sleeping helped calm some of his anxieties but not all. 

He tried to distract himself from the whole thing with the kid by keeping up to date with where Steve and Bucky were. He had no idea but he was too tired to even figure it out at that moment so he decided to leave it. 

He checked the time and saw that it was currently 10:24pm. Late but not too late for a late night dinner. 

Tony picked up the hotel phone and called down to the lobby, ordering enough food for both him and Peter. Whether the kid wanted to talk to him or not he still had to eat. 

Tony made sure that the food was sent to Peter’s room so he walked across the hall, knocking this time before he opened the door with the key card. 

It had been about an hour since he and Peter had their fight so he hopes that the hour gave Peter enough time to calm down. 

When Tony walked into the room and glanced at the bed, he thought that Peter was sleeping at first but upon a look, he could see that Peter was lying on his side with only his head sticking out as he stared at the window. 

Tony sat down next to what he assumed was Peter’s hip and looked down at the kid. His heart broke at the sight. Peter looked exhausted and had dried tear stains on his face. 

He expected Peter to push him away but when that didn’t happen, Tony took a chance and reached forward to brush the sweaty hair off of Peter’s forehead. “Look at me.” It wasn’t a hard demand, more of a plea. 

Peter slowly turned his head so that he was looking up at Tony with tired eyes. “I wanna go home.” 

Tony nodded and pulled his hand away from Peter’s hair. “I know. One more night.” 

Tony had never felt regret ever like this before in his whole entire life and he’s made a lot of bad choices in his life. Never like this. He’s never involved a child in his horrible life choices and now here he was with a fourteen year old kid who was scared and wanting to go back home. 

Peter nodded sadly then went back to turn to the dark window. Tony followed his gaze and didn’t even know what the kid was looking at. It was dark outside and you couldn’t see out. 

He got up to close the curtains so no one could see inside and noticed that Peter was watching his gaze. He saw the Spider-Man suit on the floor and went to pick it up so place it someone a little more cleaner. Somewhere where a multi million dollar suit belongs. 

Once Peter saw him grab the suit, he shot up in bed so fast and reached his arms forward. “No! You can’t take it.” 

“Woah, kid.” Tony was not expecting that reaction from simply touching the suit that he made. 

Peter’s eyes started to well up again as he watched Tony with wide eyes. “Please don’t.” 

“I’m not taking the suit, kid.” Tony explained slowly and saw the relief leave Peter’s body but then confusion was replacing it. 

“You-you’re not?” 

Tony carefully folded the suit and put it on the opposite bed then placed the mask on top. “No. I’m not. It’s yours. I made it for you.” 

Tony sat at the end of the bed. “And I don’t exactly expect anyone to have to witness me jumping around in that tight thing.” 

Despite the situation, Peter let out a weak laugh which Tony mentally fist bumped himself for. 

“I-” Peter was cut off by a knock at the door. He turned his head quickly to look in the direction of the door and then looked at Tony. 

“It’s just room service.” Tony said as he got up and answered the door. It was an older lady with a cart of food. Tony saw Peter try to hide under the blankets when she walked in to deliver the food and Tony gave her a nice tip on her way out. “I ordered you Mac and cheese because I know it’s your favourite. With a size of fries even though I consider both of those a side.” 

Tony wheeled the cart into the room and parked it next to the orange chairs. Those were ugly looking things. Oh, what is that? Tony picked up Peter’s homemade suit and examined it. 

He had wanted to touch the suit for so damn long but every chance he got Peter was wearing it so that was as close as he came to looking at it. 

“Why did you bring your onesie with you?” Tony asked the kid but Peter still looked miserable. 

Peter eyed Tony eying his suit. “I didn’t think you were going to give me a new one.” 

Tony looked at him confused. “I told you I was giving you a new suit.” 

Peter shrugged. “I didn’t think it would be in Germany. I thought maybe after.” 

Tony didn’t understand why Peter thought that but he ignored him anyways. “Can I take a look at this after we eat?” 

Peter shook his head and moved to lie down again. “No. I’m not talking to you.” 

Tony chucked. He knew he shouldn’t but the kid literally acted like a child when he was mad and it was funny, well, considering that Peter actually is a child but it’s still hard for him to get used to. 

“Pete, you have to eat. We can eat in silence, alright? Come sit on this ridiculously ugly orange chair with me.” Tony kicked out the other chair just a bit but didn’t say anything as he put the suit down next to him and watched as Peter slowly made his way over to him. 

Tony has already dug into his cheeseburger that was delicious but still not as good as the American cheeseburgers. 

Peter sat down and slowly picked up the fork before digging into his Mac and cheese. After a few silent seconds, Peter spoke. “Um… so are you really giving me the suit?” 

Tony nodded and shoved a few fries into his mouth. “I promised you a suit so yeah.” 

Peter didn’t say anything. Tony wondered why Peter wasn’t still yelling at him but he supposed that the kid was exhausted and liked his presence in the room with him. 

After another long couple of silent minutes passed by, Tony spoke. “Look Pete, I’m sorry for what I did. I knew it was wrong from the start but I didn’t stop and I’m sorry. Just so you know I don’t apologize to just anyone.” 

Peter didn’t look impressed. “You made me feel like an idiot. I trusted you as Peter and as Spider-Man.” 

Tony hated the past tense that was used on him. Trusted. As in once trusted but not anymore. 

“I know. And you have every right to not want to ever see me again. When we go back to New York tomorrow I’ll drop you off at home and you never have to see me, okay?” Tony was being serious. If that’s what Peter wanted then he would make it happen no matter how hard for him that would be. 

Peter seemed to think it over. He was twisting his fork in his Mac and cheese and then set the fork down. He looked up at Tony with a frown. “I don’t want to not ever see you again.” 

That was good. That was great. Tony didn’t expect Peter to say that but it was definitely a start. Maybe they could fix this. 

“I don’t want to not see you again either.” Tony admitted. “So what do you want to do?” 

Peter thought about it. He didn’t know what he wanted. “I just wish you knew I was Spider-Man from the beginning. I mean… Um, I wish I knew you knew, then I wouldn’t feel so stupid and embarrassed right now.” 

Tony hated that he made Peter feel that way. “Why do you feel stupid and embarrassed, bud? There’s no reason to feel that way.” 

“Yeah there is.” Peter said angrily. “I thought I was so smart and clever sneaking around being Peter with you and Spider-Man but it turns out that you already knew the whole time.” 

Tony nodded but he could tell that Peter wasn’t done yet so he let him continue. 

“And this whole thing would have been a lot easier too. The whole getting here part.” Peter added. “Plus I could have used your help to figure out some web shooter combinations.” 

Tony beamed at that. “You wanted me to help you with your suit?” 

“I did. I figured it out now.” Peter grumbled then took another bite of his food, washing it down with some apple juice. 

“I could still help you. With your new suit, we could work on it together in the lab.” Tony offered. He would love to do that with Peter. 

Peter shrugged. Tony could see the exhaustion on Peter’s face and in his movements. 

Tony didn’t want to push the kid right now. “Whatever you want I’m okay with it. And I’m sorry for what I did but I don’t want you to feel stupid or embarrassed or anything, Pete. Please don’t.” 

Peter nodded his head with a yawn. “M’kay.” 

“You should get some sleep, kid.” Tony saw that Peter pretty much ate all of his food but he could see that familiar exhaustion to Peter’s movements that he usually dealt with every other night in the lab at the tower. He wishes he could have that close relationship with the boy again. 

He knew Peter was letting his guard down right now since he was tired but that meant that Peter trusted him still right? The kid hadn’t attempted to kick him out or show any sign that he didn’t want him there so that was a good thing, right? 

Peter slowly made his way over to the bed and crawled under the blankets. He kept his eyes on Tony the whole time and watched as the man cleaned up the plates and put them onto the cart. 

Tony then went back to Peter and sat next to his waist on the bed. He ran a hand over the kids forehead to brush the curls away. “Sleep good, bud. One more night and then we’ll go home.” 

Just as Tony moved to stand up and walk away, Peter’s hand shot out for him and clung to his hand desperately. “Please don’t go.” 

Tony paused and turned back around to look at Peter. This was the same Peter that he had spent the last few months getting to know, the same intelligent kid who could keep up with him in the lab and loved movie nights. The same kid who had been dragged to a different country to fight against the Avengers and who was just a child. Tony didn’t want to leave him alone and Peter clearly didn’t want to be left alone either. 

“You want me to stay?” Tony asked for clarification even though he knew what the answer would be. 

Peter nodded his head but then shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, I mean you obviously don’t have to-to stay because I know you’re busy doing other stuff… so-so it’s fine-”

Tony cut Peter off by sitting on the opposite side of the bed as him. “Kid. Stop. It’s fine, I’ll stay with you.” 

Peter slowly laid down in his bed and faced Tony after bringing the blankets up to his face. Tony mirrored his position but on top of the blankets. 

“I’m sorry for lying to you, Pete. I really am.” Tony felt the need to say again. Peter didn’t look mad at him at that moment but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to be mad at him in the morning when he has more energy. 

“I know.” Peter whispered. Tony didn’t expect Peter to say anything else or forgive him so when Peter spoke again, it surprised Tony. “I’m sorry for not telling you from the very beginning. I was just… scared that you would stop me from… being Spider-Man.” Peter whispered the last part and rolled onto his back so he wasn’t facing Tony anymore. 

Tony sighed and ran a hand through Peter’s hair, not missing the way the kid leaned into the touch. “Don’t be sorry for that. You had every right to keep that from me.” 

Peter only hummed. Tony knew that he was quickly losing the battle with staying conscious and him playing with the kids hair was adding onto that. 

“Close your eyes and sleep, kid. We’re going home tomorrow.” Tony whispered. He continued to play with Peter’s hair long after he heard Peter’s breath even out and his body completely relaxed with sleep. 

Tony stayed until he felt his own body join Peter in unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo I’m trying to finish this fic but I’m still deciding how to end it which is stressful but so far there will be 2 or 3 more chapters left. Give it take idk yet


	14. Chapter 14

Tony woke up, not having realized that he even fell asleep. 

He sat up and looked over at the kid who was in a deep sleep. Peter was facing him with his arms stretched out as if they were reaching for him in his sleep. 

Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was still really early in the morning but not early enough where he couldn’t be up for the day. 

So Tony got out of the kid bed, really hoping that Peter doesn’t remember much of what happened last night when he wakes up. Tony made sure that Peter had the blankets around him and was warm enough before he grabbed Peter’s Spider-Man suit and mask, put it in the case and left the hotel room. 

Tony walked across the hall, going to his own hotel room and made some necessary but dreadful calls to Ross. 

.  
.  
.

Peter woke up with a headache. 

He rolled over on the bed and went to reach out for Tony but the man was gone. Peter sat up in bed, fully awake now. 

He first thought at Tony being gone was that he was sad because Peter wanted the man there like he was there for him last night but then Peter thought about last night and all the memories came flooding back. 

He was over tired and vulnerable when Tony tried to talk to him and the man was offering comfort that he so badly wanted so he took advantage of it but now Peter was regretting that big time. 

He was mad at Tony but most of all, he was embarrassed. 

Tony has seen him break down. Tony has seen how weak and childlike he was and Peter hated that. 

He wanted Tony to see him as a strong superhero who could take care of himself but instead he was the opposite. Peter felt pathetic, he couldn’t be alone and he missed his Aunt like crazy but most of all, he wasn’t a superhero. 

He failed Tony during the fight at the abandoned airport and deep down, even though he didn’t want to admit it, Peter knew he wasn’t going to get another chance to impress Tony. 

It was a one time thing and he completely messed it up. 

Peter felt like crying again. He felt his eyes burn with unshed tears but he blinked them away the best he could. 

Peter reached over the bed and grabbed his phone off of the nightstand table. It was just past 8am but he couldn’t go back to sleep even if it was still pretty early. 

Peter let out a whimper. He wanted to go home and see Aunt May but that didn’t bring him much comfort either. His Aunt knew nothing about where he was or what he was doing. 

She didn’t know Peter was Spider-Man and it had to stay that way. 

That meant that even though Peter would be going home, he was still all alone. He couldn’t tell anyone anything about how the last few days were and that hurt him to think. He would have to lie to his Aunt and continue to pretend to be happy. 

Peter kicked the blankets off of him roughly and got out of bed. He slammed the bathroom door since no one was there to tell him off for it. He then pulled off his pyjamas and went into the shower to let the warm water run over his hair to hopefully try and calm him down. 

After his shower, feeling the same, Peter put on some clothes and then he noticed something. 

His Spider-Man suit was gone. 

Peter felt his heart racing. He looked around his hotel room but he didn’t see it anywhere. His old suit was still where Tony left it but the suit that Tony made him was gone! 

If someone came into his room in the middle of the night then he would have known about it. His spider sense would have alerted him that someone he didn’t know was in his room and he would have woken up but he didn’t wake up meaning… 

Tony. 

Tony must have taken the suit back even after he said that he wouldn’t. Peter immediately felt like he wanted to cry but then anger washed over him. 

Tony lied. Tony lied, brought him to Germany, promised him a suit two times and then took it. 

Peter clenched his fists. He walked out of his room and knocked on Tony’s hotel door, hoping that the man would answer. 

Peter knocked again but there was no answer. He started banging on the door with his fists when he heard a door open. 

“Kid?!” Happy yelled from behind him. 

Peter turned around. “Tell Mr. Stark to open the door-” 

Peter felt his heart drop and all the blood drain from his face. Happy saw him. Happy was looking right at him and now he knew the truth. 

Tony knew the truth and now Happy knew the truth. 

Peter peeled his eyes away from Happy and looked down the hall. He debated on running away from the man but where would he go? 

He wasn’t wearing any shoes, he had no money and didn’t speak any German. He would get lost and never be able to get home. Plus Happy already knew now. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Happy asked when Peter didn’t say anything. 

“I-I can explain. I’m um… Mr. Stark um came to me and um… I’m-” 

Peter was cut off. “Kid, I know you’re Spider-Man.” 

Peter’s eyes widened even more. “W-what? How?” 

Happy didn’t answer him. “Why are you standing in the hallway with no shoes and banging on a door like a crazy person?” 

Peter pointed to Tony’s hotel door. “Mr. Stark has my suit. He took it from me.” 

Happy rolled his eyes. “He made that suit so I’m pretty sure he can do whatever the hell he wants with it. It’s his suit.” 

Peter shook his head. “It’s mine. He promised me I could keep it.” 

“Hate to break it to you, kid, but adults break their promises all the time. It’s called being a grownup but you obviously wouldn’t know anything about that.” Happy snorted and this was what Peter was dreading about people finding out he’s Spider-Man. 

People stop taking him seriously once they find out he’s fourteen and in grade nine. They see him as a child rather than a superhero. 

Peter crossed his arms. “Tell Mr. Stark to open the door.” 

“He’s not in there, kid. He went to do grownup business.” Happy explained. 

“Well… then why didn’t you go with him?” Peter asked. Happy was Tony Stark's bodyguard. 

“Because Tony can take care of himself plus I’m only here to watch you. I was assigned babysitting duty which is a downgrade in my opinion.” Happy grumbled the last part to himself which made Peter scuff. 

“Look, kid,” Happy started once he realized Peter wasn’t going to say anything. “Tony cares about you so he made sure I watched you and made sure nothing happens to you while we’re here.” 

“Oh please, if he really cared about me then he wouldn’t have taken my suit. I’m big enough to do what I want so I don’t need him or you standing in my way.” Peter went to walk back into his hotel room to get away from Happy but his door locked behind him so he was stuck. 

Happy walked back into his hotel room, the door shutting behind him and Peter thought that the man was leaving him in the hallway but then his door was opening again and Happy was opening Peter’s hotel door with a keycard. 

“What were you saying about being a big boy and taking care of yourself?” Happy asked him as he held open the door but Peter didn’t respond. 

Peter gave the man a dirty look and then walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. 

.  
.  
.

There was a knock on the door but Peter ignored it. 

After Happy left him, he cried a bit at how angry he was at everything and then he turned on the tv and watched some food cooking show in German for the past four hours. 

Peter didn’t care about who was at the door because if it was room service then he would ignore them and if was Tony or Happy then he would ignore them too. 

The door was being opened so Peter curled into a tighter ball in the middle of the bed. He looked over just to see who was there and he spotted Tony then put his head back down. 

“Kid,” Tony started but Peter cut him off. 

“I’m not a kid.” He said. Peter knew he was one and he actually loved the nickname Tony gave him but he didn’t like it at that moment. 

“Then what are you?” Tony asked. Peter stayed silent. “Would you like it better if I called you ‘adult’?” 

Peter ignored him. 

Tony sat at the edge of the bed and looked at Peter’s small frame. He was an idiot for being the kid to Germany. “You are a kid, Pete. You’re a child and I shouldn’t have brought you here.” 

Peter rolled over on his side to face Tony. “But you did bring me here.” 

Tony nodded. “I know and I’m sorry for bringing you into all of this.” 

“I wanted to come.” Peter admitted but it was no secret. 

“You shouldn’t want any of this. You should live your life while you’re still young.” Tony started. “You just started high school, you have to finish that so you can get into a good college, kiss a girl, go to parties.” 

Peter shook his head. Nothing sounded appealing other than the finishing high school part. “Eww no. I don’t want to kiss any girls.” 

Tony smiled at that. Peter was the total opposite from him at that age. 

“How about a party?” Tony asked but he felt like he already knew the answer. 

“Peter groaned. “No. I hate parties. I’ve never been to one but I know I’ll hate it because I don’t like that stuff. I just want… I just want to be like you.” 

Tony would lie if anyone asked him but he felt his heart melt at that statement. “You want to be like me?” 

Peter nodded. “Yes. I want to be a superhero like you and stop the bad guys.” 

Tony‘s smile fell. “This isn’t a video game, kid. This is real stuff, people die, people get hurt. Good people.” 

He thought back to his best friend who was now paralyzed because of him. 

“Yeah but that’s why I would stop that from happening. So the good people don’t get hurt by the bad guys.” Peter sat up to say. 

Tony shook his head. Peter was so young and naïve. “Damn, you really are a child, aren’t you? Look, kid. People die and sometimes there’s nothing you can do to stop that, sometimes there is but that’s not up to you to make that choice. You’re too young and I’m not gonna allow it.” 

Peter threw his head back and got off the bed to stand in front of Tony. “You can’t stop me from being Spider-Man! It’s who I am.” 

“I never said I was stopping you from doing anything.” Tony held up his hand. “I simply stated that I don’t want you to have the responsibility that I have. That every other Avenger has so it was stupid of me to bring you here.” 

Peter felt his heart drop once again. “You-you don’t think I did good in the fight?” 

“What? I never said that.” Tony ran a hand down his face. This kid was putting words in his mouth. He looked over at the kid and saw his big brown eyes staring at him and waiting to be told he did a good job. 

“You did good, kid.” Tony said honestly. He was watching Peter during the fight and he was proud of him. 

Peter smiled and looked down but then his smile dropped. “Can I have my suit back?” 

Tony knew he was talking about the suit that he took back but he only took it temporarily. “You can have it back once we get home.” 

“O-okay. Why not now?” 

“You don’t need it now.” Tony reached over and grabbed the phone on the nightstand table. “You hungry? I’m starving so I could eat a cheeseburger. Or two. What do you want?” 

Peter was starving. He hadn’t eaten anything since last night. “Um… maybe the same thing I had last night.” 

Tony nodded and then called room service and had the food delivered up to the hotel room. 

While they waited, Tony curiously stood up and grabbed Peter’s homemade suit then walked back to the bed and sat down. 

“So, you made this all by yourself?” He asked. 

Peter nodded. “Yeah. Um, I um, stole some stuff from the science lab in my school because Um, I couldn’t get it any other way but just don’t tell anyone.” 

Tony smirked. “I won’t tell anyone.” 

They stared at each other for a few long awkward seconds before Tony spoke again. “So uh, tell me, kid.” 

Peter looked at Tony confused. “Tell you what?” 

“Tell me how this whole thing started. What you can do differently now. I’ve been dying to know ever since I met you.” 

Peter shrunk in on himself a bit. He didn’t know how to explain the whole thing to Tony and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to but Tony wouldn’t hurt him and Peter trusted the man so he decided to tell him. 

“Well um, I went on a school trip about a month after I turned fourteen and there were these spiders there and we-we weren’t allowed to touch anything… but I did. And it bit me but I didn’t Uh, tell anyone because I didn’t want to get in trouble so I stayed quiet.” Peter paused. “Then we went back to school and I felt fine but once I got home, I started to feel sick. Like really sick, Mr. Stark.” 

Peter remembers how scary that was, a shiver ran through his body at the memory. “I was so scared because I thought I was gonna die and I knew it was because of the spider but I was too scared to tell my Aunt and Uncle. I had a really high fever so my Uncle put me in a cold bath to try and bring it down but it didn’t help.” 

Peter started playing with the blanket on the hotel bed. He remembers how Aunt May was freaking out and constantly checking his temperature as Uncle Ben helped him out of his clothes and into a bath to try and bring his temperature down but it didn’t work and then May wanted to bring him to the hospital but Ben was yelling and saying that the hospital bill would put them on the streets. 

“Um, my temperature didn’t go down but I can’t remember what happened after that. I guess U-Uncle Ben took me out of the bath and put me to bed. I can’t remember.” Peter strained his mind to think. 

“What do you remember after that?” Tony asked, trying to picture what happened in his head and how scared Peter must have been as well as his Aunt and Uncle. 

“Um… I remember I threw up a lot. Ben had to stay home from work to take care of me because he was scared that I would choke on my vomit or something. I don’t know, I just remember the pain and how scared I was.” Peter explained. “But then one day I woke up and my fever was gone and I was fine. My eyesight was so much better, I didn’t need my inhaler and I actually liked gym class.” 

“So the spider bite improved your senses?” Tony asked, he was so curious to know everything about the spider bite. 

Peter nodded. “Yeah. But it also made everything more like painful too. Like sometimes loud noises hurt too much or if something is too bright all at once then it’s just too much.” 

“It’s like your senses go into overdrive and you can’t control it.” Tony explained, more to himself then to Peter. 

“Yeah, exactly.” 

“So then what made you become Spider-Man? How did this all come about?” Tony gestured to the suit in his hands but he saw Peter’s smile drop. 

“I um, I had my powers for three months but I didn’t want them so I didn’t do anything with them. I knew I was stronger and faster but I didn’t do anything.” Peter felt tears burn his eyes. “Then one day I was at the gas station with my Uncle and-and there was a robbery and Ben told me to go outside so I did and-and I could’ve stopped it. I could’ve saved U-Uncle Ben before he was s-shot. It’s my fault he’s dead.” 

Peter bit his bottom lip to stop himself from crying. He didn’t want to cry in front of Tony again. 

“Peter, listen to me.” Tony said firmly so Peter looked up and met Tony’s eyes. “You couldn’t have stopped that guy from robbing the place and snorting your Uncle, okay? It’s not your fault because you are a child and at the time you didn’t even know the extent of your powers. You still don’t know.” 

“But I could have stopped-”

“No. No you couldn’t and what if you got shot too, huh? What then? You wouldn’t be here.” Tony didn’t even want to think about losing Peter or never getting to meet the bright child in the first place. “What happened to your Uncle was scary and I’m sorry that you had to go through that but it wasn’t your fault. Do you understand me?” 

Peter looked down and Tony forced his head up to look at him. “Do you understand me?” 

“Y-yes. Yes I understand you.” Peter tried to say with conviction. 

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door and Tony was getting up to open it. 

Peter watched as someone walked in and wheeled in a cart of food, looked at him, said something to him in German and then left. 

Tony moved the cart to the orange chairs again then walked over to pick up Peter’s suit and folded it so that it was on the dresser instead. 

He turned to Peter. “Is there anything else I should know about your powers? Any other cool things?” 

Peter thought about it. “I’m super light.” 

Tony looked at him. “You’re… what?” 

“I’m super light, like my bone density makes me weigh like seventy-eight pounds.” Peter explained. He remembers the day he first figured that out and how much he was freaking out over it. 

“Stand up.” Tony ordered. 

“Why?” 

“Because I wanna see how light you really are.” Tony held out his arms and then Peter smiled and stood up, lifting his arms up a bit, feeling really awkward as Tony picked him up. “Wow, kid! You’re like a feather.” 

Peter laughed awkwardly and then Tony set him back on the ground. “I lift weights that are heavier than you.” 

“I bet you don’t even lift weights, Mr. Stark.” Peter teased and got a slap on the back of the head from Tony. 

“Hey, watch your mouth. I do too lift weights… just not as much as I used to.” Tony shot back and sat down on the orange chair. 

.  
.  
.

Peter was lying on the bed on his stomach playing games on his phone since there was no wifi. 

It had been hours since Mr. Stark and him ate and then the man left to attend to some more business and Avengers stuff. Peter thought how Tony never really stops, he’s always on the go and yet he made time for him. 

Peter smiled to himself and then there was a knock on his door so he got up to open it, finding it weird that Tony it Happy weren’t just walking in on him like they had been doing, well, at least Tony had. 

Peter opened the door and was surprised to see Tony standing there. “Hi.” 

“Hey. You ready to blow this ice cream stand?” Tony asked as he stepped into the room and looked around. “You didn’t even start packing yet, kid?” 

Peter shut the door and walked over to Tony. “Um, no. I didn’t know when I was leaving.” 

Tony grabbed his Spider-Man suit. “We’re leaving now and put this in your bag because you’re not wearing it in the plane this time.” 

“We’re leaving? You mean you’re coming on the plane with me?” Peter tried to keep the excitement out of his voice. Tony was coming on the plane with him so he wouldn’t be alone. 

“Well… it is my plane so yeah, I’m coming. So get packing because we leave like now.” Tony shoved Peter’s suit in his bag and then walked out of the room. 

Peter quickly packed everything up, double checking that he wasn’t forgetting anything before walking into the hallway and immediately bumping into Tony and Happy. 

“You ready?” Tony asked him but Peter’s eyes were more focused on the case that Happy was holding. Tony followed his eyes and then pulled his arm away so that Peter wasn’t looking at the case anymore. “Let’s head down to the car and get home.” 

Peter avoided Happy's eyes because he felt embarrassed. He had Happy pick him up in his whole little outfit and the man had acted like he didn’t know exactly who was under the mask. 

The car ride was mostly silent because Happy was driving and he didn’t talk and even though Tony had chosen to sit in the backseat with him, the man was on his phone the whole time so Peter spent the whole drive to the airport looking out the window and trying to pronounce the German street signs he saw. 

Once they arrived at the airport, Happy was the first one out and was going to the back to grab the bags. Tony looked over at the kid. “Pete, don’t worry. We’re gonna be home soon.” 

Peter only nodded then opened his door the same time Tony opened his door. They all walked to the plane's stairs and Peter couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful that Tony was going to be on the plane with him. He didn’t want to have to travel alone like he did on the way to Germany since Happy didn’t seem to like him very much. 

“After you,” Tony held out his arm, gesturing for Peter to walk up the steps of the plane which Peter did. Tony followed in after him and then Happy. 

Inside the plane, Tony sat himself down by one of the windows and Peter stood there awkwardly while he watched Happy put all the bags away. He had to see where Happy was going to sit first so he didn’t bug any of the men by sitting close to them. 

After Happy sat down in the corner, close to where he sat on the way over here, Peter decided to sit on the other row of seats from Tony but the man looked at him offended after Peter sat down. 

“Where are you going? I don’t bite, kid.” Tony took his sunglasses off and put them in one of the cup holders then patted the seat next to him. 

“I um, Mr. Happy didn’t want me to sit near him on the way over here so I just thought…” Peter said awkwardly and played with a loose string on his sweater. 

Tony turned around to glare at Happy but the man had already put his feet up and put his eye mask on. He turned back to Peter and patted the seat beside him again. “Don’t worry about Happy. He’s a miserable old man.” 

Peter laughed a bit because it was kinda true but he would never say that. He stood up and walked towards Tony but there was a loud bang so he flinched and turned towards the door of the plane. 

“They’re just closing the door because we’ll be taking off soon.” Tony explained. Peter seemed extra anxious ever since they got on the plane. 

Peter nodded and sat next to Tony. This was going to be a long flight if he had to hide his fear of flying from Tony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of a lot of blood in this story, just warning you guys:( 
> 
> Oh my god guys! My cat got attacked!! There was so much blood I was so scared omg 
> 
> I was watching the office on my couch and I knew my cat was outside because I saw him sleeping on the tarp (I live in Canada so it’s still cold and snowing sometimes so the tarp covers the outside furniture) then I saw him like moving around from the window but I wasn’t paying much attention so a few min later I see a lot of commotion so I get up to look but I don’t see anything. I opened the back door and my cat immediately comes running inside and he like runs around the kitchen and then jumps on the coffee table and I’m like “coco what’s wrong?” Then he runs back outside and like does a quick lap and then I see a cat and I’m like oh no! So coco comes back inside and I shut the door and he runs upstairs then I see all the blood. 
> 
> It was spattered everywhere like an actual murder scene and it was all over the glass table and on the floor, in the kitchen and all the way upstairs so then I heard my mom screaming saying like why the cat was bleeding and what happened so I run upstairs and got some reason my cat jumped into the windowsill and omg the blood freaking sprayed everywhere! There was a huge amount of blood pooling under his paw or his leg I still don’t know. So my mom is yelling at me to go grab something to stop the blood so I run down to the basement to get some paper towels and I told my brother and he’s laughing saying that I’m making it up so I tell him to come and he’s like no and I was like get the fuck upstairs so he comes and he immediately sees all the blood so we go upstairs and my mom is yelling at me for some reason idk and Thdn yea. 
> 
> So my cat is ok so far. He’s sitting in my moms room on some old towel which he loves and yea. He stopped bleeding but I feel so bad for my baby boy omg like he was just enjoying the sun in his own backyard and he gets fucking attacked for no reason. My baby was not doing anything and the stupid cat attacks him:(


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you guys like this:))

Peter wanted to bring his knees to his chest to try and calm himself down since they knew they were going to take off soon but he couldn’t do that with Tony watching him. 

It was different when he was going to Germany since Happy was sleeping the whole time but Peter doubted that Tony would sleep. 

The plane was rumbling loudly under his feet but Peter tried his best to ignore that. He wouldn’t think about it so hopefully it wouldn’t affect his senses too much plus now Tony was there to distract him. 

Tony shut the plane window screen as the plane started taking off then he glanced down to Peter’s lap and did a double look. 

“Put your seatbelt on, kid. We’re taking off.” Tony said then put his on. 

Peter watched Tony put his seatbelt on confused. He didn’t even know planes had seatbelts. Tony saw the confusion on Peter’s face because he was reaching across the seat and grabbing the seatbelt for Peter. “This… goes into this.” 

Peter rolled his eyes. “I didn’t know that.” 

“Obviously.” Tony scuffed. “Didn’t Happy tell you to put it on on the way over here?” 

Peter shook his head. “Well no but he was sleeping the whole time so…” 

Tony looked back at Happy who was no doubt sleeping now as well. He couldn’t believe that he trusted Happy to watch the kid and Happy barely did that. He knew Happy hated kids but he still had to do his job. 

“It’s fine. Let’s just… wanna watch a movie?” Tony asked. He needed something to take his mind off of everything that was going on in his life with the Accords and now Steve’s and Barnes’ disappearances as well as the fact that his best friend was paralyzed from the waist down. 

“Yeah. Does your phone get service from all the way in the air?” Peter asked. He knew his phone didn’t but maybe Tony’s phone had some advanced Stark tech in it. Who was he kidding, he was talking to Tony Stark; of course his phone did. 

“My phone? What, kid, no. You just press this button,” Tony pressed a button and a screen came down from the ceiling. Peter watched with wide eyes. “and boom.” 

“Wow. That’s amazing, Mr. Stark.” Peter said in awe but then Tony was eyeing him. “What?” 

“Did Happy not show you this?” Peter shook his head. He hoped he wasn’t getting Mr. Happy in trouble but he wasn’t about to lie to Tony Stark. “What did you do on the plane then?” 

Peter thought about the panic attack that he had and how he hid himself away in the bathroom for most of the flight but he wasn’t about to say that. “Um, I looked out the window after it started to get brighter and just… looked around I guess.” 

Tony ran a hand down his face. “Jesus Christ. Sorry, Pete. Must have been a long and boring plane ride.” 

Peter laughed weakly and nodded. 

“So what should we watch? You pick.” Tony handed Peter the remote that looked like typical Stark tech. 

“Are you sure you want to let me?” Peter asked with a smirk. “You know I’m just gonna put on Star Wars and I know how much you hate watching that.” 

Tony pinched the side of Peter’s stomach. “I can easily change it if I want but I think I’ll give you this.” 

Peter moved away from Tony’s hand at his side with a laugh. “If you say so.” 

Truth was, Tony didn’t actually mind watching Star Wars because he liked seeing the kid get so excited while it was on. He knew Peter was a huge fan and even had matching pyjama sets dedicated to the movie series. 

They were less than half way through the movie and had been up in the air that whole time. The plane was only getting higher and higher and Peter’s ears were popping but it wasn’t painful, just really uncomfortable. 

He thought that maybe it wasn’t as bad the second time being in the plane since he was already used to everything that was going to happen due to having already experienced it but he was proven wrong when not even twenty minutes later, his ears started to really hurt. To the point where he had to bite his bottom lip to stop a whimper from escaping his mouth. 

He shifted in position to try and stop the pain but it didn’t work so he went back to his other position and fisted his hands. 

Peter glanced over at Tony who was watching the movie with a bored look on his face but he was distracted by the movie so Peter clenched his eyes shut as hard as he could to see if it would help the pain. 

“You okay, Pete?” Tony asked him. 

Shit. Peter didn’t want Tony to catch him. When he opened his eyes, the sunlight hit him and it burned. “Y-yeah. I just… I need to pee. I’ll um, be right back.” 

When Peter went to stand up, he was forced back down by something so he tried to stand up again only to be forced back down again. He was trapped. 

“Hey, relax. Look, it’s just the seatbelt.” Tony reached across Peter’s lap and easily undid the seatbelt but Peter was standing up and rushing into the bathroom before Tony could say anything. “Kid? Peter?” 

Tony undid his own seatbelt and stood up to follow Peter towards the bathroom door. He knocked on it but didn’t hear anything from inside. “Peter? What’s wrong, buddy? Do you feel sick?” 

After not hearing anything, Tony lifted the eye mask off of Happys face and patted him on the arm. Happy came to grumbling something incoherent. “Hey, you’re the worst babysitter ever, Hap. You know that?” 

Happy glared at Tony. “That’s cause I’m not a babysitter.” 

“I added that to your job description so yeah, you kinda are.” Tony said annoyed as he watched Happy get more comfortable again. 

“You added babysitter to my job description? Oh yeah that’s gonna make people take me more seriously. Babysitter to a fourteen year old boy who’s also Spider-Man.” Happy complained as Tony rolled his eyes at the man. “Plus you’re here now so I’m off duty.” 

“And what about on the way over here? You didn’t even tell him that planes have seatbelts or that he could watch as many movies as he wanted.” Tony knew he was overreacting but he was annoyed. “The kid stared out the window the whole time.” 

Before Happy had the chance to respond, the bathroom door was being opened and Peter was walking out of it. 

Tony noticed that he looked really pale. He walked past both adults and sat down in his spot. Tony followed him while Happy took that as his cue to go back to sleep. 

“Kid? What was that?” Tony asked, cautiously. 

Peter didn’t look up at him. “Nothing. Can we just finish the movie now?” 

Tony watched Peter for a few more seconds before reluctantly giving in and sitting back in his spot next to the kid. He made sure to watch Peter on the corner of his eye while they continued to watch the movie that he was paying no attention to. 

Peter seemed okay. Tony had no idea what happened to him but he assumed Peter either really had to pee or he was sick. Either way, the kid looked a lot better but right after Tony thought that, Peter was rushing out of his seat again and running into the bathroom. 

Tony was up in an instant and following the kid. He knocked on the door. “Peter? Tell me what’s wrong, bud. I can help you.” 

There was no answer from the other side. 

Tony sighed. “Peter, please. Open the door.” 

Tony listened in and heard a whimper. “Can I come in? I’m gonna open the door unless you say no…” 

He paused long enough for Peter to protest but when there was no response, Tony opened the door and found Peter sitting in the corner of the small airplane bathroom with his head between his knees. 

The bathroom was too small for the two of them to be inside at the same time so Tony kept the door open so he kneeled down halfway inside the bathroom and halfway outside of it. 

“Look at me, Pete. What’s wrong?” Tony asked quietly. 

Peter slowly lifted his head up from between his knees and Tony saw the tears falling down the kids cheeks and how distraught he looked. 

“Oh Peter.” He said in sympathy. “What’s going on?” 

Peter let out a whimper. “I… my ears.” 

“Are they popping?” Tony asked, it would make sense but he didn’t know why Peter was crying over it. Unless it was some kids thing and it was something else. Tony was still learning. 

Peter half nodded. “I can’t. It h-hurts.” 

Tony tried to think about what to do. “Gum helps with the popping. I have options, kid. Wanna pick?” 

Peter felt a sharp pain rip through his head which caused his hands to shoot up to cover his ears and a whimper to escape his mouth as he shut his eyes. 

“Hey hey. What’s wrong?” Tony had no idea what to do. He’s seen Peter cry before but those times he was able to help him since he knew what the problem was but he had no idea how. For all he knew the kid could have slammed his finger in the bathroom door. 

“My head. It-it feels like my head's g-going to explode.” Peter rushed out followed by a whimper. 

“Okay, let’s get out of the bathroom and then I’ll get you something to help with that, okay?” Tony stood up and waited patiently for Peter to stand up as well before leading him back to their seats. 

“It’s completely normal for ears to pop when you’re at such high altitudes.” Tony explained as he handed Peter a pack of juicy fruit gum. “It also helps if you plug your nose and blow out but the chewing helps too.” 

Peter shook his head. “No. It’s-it’s my senses. It’s like… everything is dialed to eleven so-so it feels like my head is going to explode and I can’t!” Peter let out a sob that he definitely would be embarrassed about later but right now he was in too much pain. 

Tony thought back to the conversation that he had with Peter in the hotel room before about his powers and what he could do. He knew there was more to it but he didn’t want to press the kid about it. “So it’s like sensory overload then?” 

Peter didn’t answer Tony but he knew that he was right. It’s exactly what’s going on with Peter. Tony stood up to try and get some Advil for Peter but he paused. He knew that Peter had a really quick metabolism meaning that he would burn through the Advil’s was ah too fast and he didn’t know what the right amount to give Peter would be and he didn’t want to overdose the kid. Shit. 

He grabbed a bunch of paper towels and folded it so it was in the shape of a rectangle then Tony ran it under cold water in the bathroom and sat back down in his seat. 

“Lift your head up, bud. This will help you.” Tony placed the cold cloth on Peter’s forehead after the kid lifted his head up but still kept his eyes shut. Peter flinched at the sudden coldness but didn’t try to take it off thankfully. “It’ll pass soon.” 

Tony gently ran his hands through Peter’s curls since he knew that always helped calm the kid down as well. 

Peter tried to focus on the cold cloth on his forehead and Tony’s hand in his hair. He shut his eyes and focused on those things, he wasn’t sure how long it had been but eventually his ears popped and the pain slowly went away until it was a dull, bearable ache in his head. 

He cautiously opened his eyes and looked over at Tony who was already looking at him with a sad look on his face. Tony removed his hand from Peter’s hair and Peter immediately missed the contact. “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be sorry, kid. I should have known you were extra sensitive to all this.” Tony felt bad. He should have figured it out or asked Peter so he could have done something to prevent this from happening. 

Peter shook his head. “I didn’t tell you so you had no way of knowing.” 

Tony hummed. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore because either way he felt guilty. “Did this happen on the way over here?” 

Peter looked down with a nod. 

“What did you do?” Tony highly doubted that Happy helped the kid. 

“Um… I just stayed in the bathroom until it went away.” The teenager answered as he took the cold washcloth off his face and placed it in the cup holder. 

He leaned his head back against his seat and let out a shaky breath. “Thank you.” 

Tony looked at him surprised then waved him off. “No problem, kid. I’m here for you whenever you need me.” 

Peter nodded. That was nice to hear. 

The rest of the plane ride went by smoothly. Peter didn’t have any more sensory overloads which both males were grateful for and before they knew it, the plane was landing on a private runway. 

“We’re finally home.” Tony announced and stood up, stretching then walking over to Happy and smacking him on the arm. “Get up, Hap.” 

Peter stood up as well and tried to hold back the laugh that escaped him when Happy grumbled something at Tony but got up with a loud yawn anyways. 

Peter watched Tony grab the Spider-Man case out of the storage area on the plane and hold it in his hand then grabbed Peter’s bag and handed it to him with his other hand. 

Tony saw the kid eyeing the case but he didn’t say anything about it. “Let’s get going. Gotta get you back to your Aunt.” 

Peter wasn’t as happy about being back home as he thought he would be. He wasn’t sure how his relationship with Mr. Stark was going to be now that the man knew he was Spider-Man. They obviously weren’t going to go back to their normal life together and work in the lab as if the last two days didn’t happen. 

They got into the car, Tony sliding in the backseat with Peter and Happy driving. It was raining out and the sun was going down as they drove through the busy streets of Queens. 

“I’m proud of you, kid. You did good.” Tony patted him on the knee and then took his glasses off and cleared his throat. “Look, I don’t want you to get too carried away with all this Spider-Man business. You’re still a kid so live your life and leave the big stuff for the Avengers.” 

“Well, am I an Avenger now?” Peter asked with wide eyes. 

“No. I never said that.” Tony eyed the kid. “Just… remember what I said. Okay, kid?” 

Peter nodded but he wasn’t really sure what Tony meant. He was saying a whole lot of nothing. 

Happy came to a stop rather aggressively outside of his apartment. “Okay. We’re here.” 

Peter looked over at Tony who was already getting out of the car so Peter followed him out. He walked to the back and Peter watched as Tony pulled Peter’s bags out, handing it to him and then pulled the case out, holding it himself then shut the trunk. 

“Let’s go say hi to Aunt hottie. Prove to her that I kept you alive.” Tony chuckled to himself but Peter was too focused on the case in Tony’s hands. 

“I can keep the case? Like… for good?” Peter asked, scared of the answer. 

“Yeah. Didn’t we talk about this already?” He asked as they got into the elevator and Tony pressed the number for Peter’s floor. 

“Well yeah but I just thought… I don’t know.” Peter said unsurely. 

“Kid, I’m not stopping you from running around in your underoos.” Tony made sure not to say Spider-Man in such a public place, although if anyone heard that conversation they would still be looking at them weird. “I just made some changes so you’re safe while you’re doing your thing.” 

The elevator doors opened and they were walking out. “Thank you, Mr. Stark, really but can you not tell Aunt May. She’ll freak out and when she freaks out, I freak out so just… please don’t tell her.” 

Tony patted Peter on the back. “Kid, I’m not telling anyone. Your secret is safe with me.” 

“Okay. Thanks.” Peter said awkwardly and then when they arrived at his apartment door, Peter knocked. 

May was opening the door less than ten seconds later and was hugging Peter immediately. “Hi baby. How was your trip? I missed you.” 

“I missed you too, May, and it was good.” Peter answered then stepped into the apartment with Tony following behind him. 

“How was he?” May asked Tony and Peter felt his cheeks heat up. 

“He was good. He’s a good kid, May.” Tony held back any sarcastic comments and smiled genuinely at Peter who was trying to avoid his gaze. 

“That’s good. Thank you for looking after him, Tony.” May was happy to watch her kid interact with Tony because it was good for Peter to have a male figure in his life. 

“Yeah. Anytime.” Tony crosses the distance between him and the kid and put his arms around him, forcing Peter into his chest for an awkward half hug. “Take this. It’s yours now.” 

Peter grabbed the case carefully from Tony with a huge smiling creeping up on his face. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.” 

“What is that?” May asked. 

“It’s um…” Peter tried to think of a lie but Tony knew the kid was an awful liar so he rolled his eyes and turned to face May. 

“It has a bunch of science equipment in it for Pete’s little experiments.” Tony lied. “I gotta get going now but I’ll see you later Pete. Bye May. Thanks again for letting me take your nephew.” 

Tony left after that and made his way back to his car, kicking Happy out of the front seat so he could drive. 

Peter watched Tony leave and couldn’t help but wonder when he would see Tony next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is everyone? 
> 
> I’m doing fine. I have A LOT of time to write so that’s basically all I’ve been doing and I’m going to be posting 2 new fics soon which I’m really excited for but idkkkk why honestly because when I go back to work I’m just putting more pressure on myself to write but oh welll!! 
> 
> Idkkk when I’m goikg back to work tho because my supervisor said April 6 but like things are still really bad where I live and it’s gonna go on until May so I don’t actually know when I’m gonna go back to work but I want to know which is frustrating because the time is getting closer till the 6


	16. The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of this fic!!

Tony’s head was killing him. 

He’s already taken four Advil’s for the pain so he knows he can’t take anymore for at least any other six hours or so. 

He walked into his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. His face was all bruised with a broken nose and two black eyes. He lifted up his shirt slightly and winced at the pain from his two broken ribs. 

That’s what he gets for taking on two super humans, he thinks. 

He couldn’t say he was surprised. Tony knew that Bucky was Steve’s best friend and that they would do anything for each other but after seeing the video of his parents being murdered and trusting Steve only to be backstabbed by the man had hurt. 

Tony walked out of his bathroom and sat on his bed, holding an ice pack up to his particularly sore eye. He didn’t regret going after the two of them one bit. It just showed him that he really can’t trust anyone. 

Tony heard his phone vibrating on his nightstand table and he had an idea as to who that was. He reached for his phone, seeing that it was the kid calling but he ignored the call. Again. 

Ever since Tony had dropped him off at his apartment after Germany two weeks ago the kid had been calling him about five times a day but Tony couldn’t answer the phone. 

He didn’t want to explain to Peter what happened to him and he really didn’t want the kid to see him like that so he thought it was best to ignore the kid until he was at least looking a bit more decent. 

Tony lied down on his bed slowly and was about to rest his eyes when his bedroom door was being opened. He glanced up and at seeing Pepper enter the room, he relaxed and covered his face again. 

“What are you doing?” Pepper asked and Tony could tell she was mad. 

“As you can see, I’m about to take a well needed nap so goodbye.” Tony said through gritted teeth. He didn’t have the energy or patience for this. 

“Peter’s been calling you and you haven’t answered any of his calls.” Pepper said annoyed. “His Aunt is calling me and asking if you’re dead.” 

Tony removed three ice pack to glare at her. “Tell her I’m dead until further notice.” 

Pepper crossed her arms. “Tony, you made a promise to that kid that you would stay in his life and be there for him so do your part and grow up.” 

Tony sat fully up and rested his back against the headboard. “Hey, I’m a grown man and I am doing my part. I’m keeping my distance so I don’t ruin his life.” 

“You’re ruining his life by forcing your way into it, gaining his trust and then ignoring his phone calls for over two week.” Pepper walked over to him and took the ice pack from his hand and replaced it with his phone. 

“Call Peter and invite him over.” Pepper demanded. 

Tony knew that Pepper had a soft spot for Peter because she wouldn’t admit it but she actually loved kids and she liked the way Peter had changed him for the better in some ways. 

“I can’t while I look like this, Pep.” Tony said seriously. He didn’t want to scare Peter away. 

Pepper sighed sadly. “You look fine, Tony. You just have two black eyes but everything else healed. If you want I can put some makeup on to cover some of it up.” 

Tony waved her off. “Should I tell him the truth? He’s gonna ask.” 

Pepper seemed to think about it for a few seconds before answering. “He’s a kid so sugarcoat it a bit. Save him some of the scary details but be honest.” 

Tony nodded and smiled at her weakly. He was thankful for the push. 

He unlocked his phone and found Peter’s contact. 

.  
.  
.

After Mr. Stark dropped him off and left him with the case, Peter’s life went back to normal for the most part. 

He went back to school and had to bite his tongue every time he wanted to tell Ned about where he was the past few days and everything that’s happened but he had to stop himself. 

Peter had been racing home from school so he could take his new Spider-Man suit out of its case and fight crime. Every single time he went out, he would get a rush of adrenaline as he swung from building to building. 

Peter felt like he was on a high but something was missing. He knew what that something was but he didn’t want to admit it. 

The fact that Mr. Stark had basically abandoned him after taking him to Germany and giving him a new suit. Peter tried to think about what he did, if it was his fault that Tony didn’t want to have anything to do with him or if Tony was just mad at him for being Spider-Man. Maybe he didn’t approve of it after all. 

It had been sixteen days since he’s last seen or heard from the man, not that Peter was keeping track. 

He had been calling him a bunch of times every day just in case Tony maybe forgot about him. Peter missed him. He missed their lab visits and their movie nights that just seemed to come to a sudden stop. 

He was starting to regret going to Germany because then that way, Tony could still pretend that he didn’t know Peter was Spider-Man and they could go back to the way things used to be. 

Peter sighed and threw himself onto his bed on his stomach. He called Tony but the man didn’t answer, not that that surprised him anyways. 

It was Friday night and usually the two of them would stay up really late working in the lab and then they would watch a movie and fall asleep on the couch. Not tonight though. 

Peter didn’t feel like going out as Spider-Man either. He had been feeling that way for the past few days and it made him feel guilty but he tried not to think about that. 

Peter was about to start working on some of his web fluid formulas to pass the time by when his phone started ringing on his desk. 

He quickly sat up and scrambled to see who was calling. A smile broke out across his face when he saw that it was Tony. “Hello?” 

“Hey, kid.” Tony said on the other end. Peter was so happy to hear his mentor's voice again. “Whatcha up to?” 

“Nothing. Um, I was just about to work on Uh, some web formulas and stuff but it can wait if you wanna talk.” Peter hoped Tony was calling for a good reason and not asking for the suit back. 

“Sounds cool. Hey, I was wondering if you’d wanna swing by the tower and spend the night? We haven’t had one of our sleepovers in awhile.” Tony sounded hesitant on the other line. 

“Yeah! I mean,” Peter cleared his throat. “sure. What time should I come at?” 

“How about now?” Tony asked. 

Peter was already pulling off his pants so he could change into his suit faster. “Alright! I’ll be there in like twenty minutes!” 

Peter hung up the phone in his excitement to get to the tower. 

It took him fifteen minutes to web there. Peter was beyond excited and he didn’t really care if it was showing because Tony hasn’t spoken to him in two weeks and now he was going to his house for a movie night. Maybe things could go back to the way they used to be. 

Peter had sent a quick text to May before he left, telling her that he was going to be going to spend the night at the tower. 

He arrived at the tower but he wasn’t sure how to get in. He couldn’t exactly walk through the front doors. 

Peter webbed himself to the side of the tower and decided to climb up the side of the building, all the way to Mr. Starks private floor. 

It was extremely high up so Peter was really hoping Tony would see him once he got to the top because he was starting to get shaky legs from being up so high. 

Once he got to the top, Peter looked inside the window but he didn’t see anyone. He knocked on the glass, feeling like a complete idiot. 

FRIDAY must have told Tony that he was outside because before Peter knew it, the window he was on was opening so he quickly crawled inside and took off his mask with a smile and walked over to Tony. 

“Woah! I didn’t realize how high up your tower is-” Peter paused to look at Tony’s face. He had two black eyes and it looked like his nose was broken. “Are you okay, Mr. Stark?! What happened?” 

Tony was still smiling at him despite his face looking like it was. He crossed his arms then winced and put his hands in his pocket. “I was in a fight. You should see the other guy.” 

Peter didn’t laugh. He had that concerned look on his face that Tony hated being directed at him. This was why he didn’t want Peter to come and see him. He didn’t want to worry the kid. 

“Mr. Stark. You’re hurt.” Peter walked closer to Tony until they were almost touching. He looked up at Tony’s face and examined his injuries. 

“Yeah, kid. I’m aware but don’t worry because it doesn’t hurt.” Tony pushed the kid away from him a bit because Peter was getting too close and had no idea what personal space meant. 

“It looks like it hurts.” Peter concluded and crossed his arms over his chest. “Who did that to you?” 

Tony sighed. He hadn’t figured out yet whether or not he was going to tell Peter who did it to him. He knew that the kid looked up to Captain America and that he even had matching pyjama sets of the man so Tony didn’t want to crush the kids idea of the man but he also didn’t want to lie to Peter. 

Peter raised his eyebrows at him for not answering quick enough and Tony had to hold back a chuckle at that. He put his hands on Peter’s shoulders and turned him around. “How about you go change out of your cool new onesie and then we’ll talk.” 

Peter looked like he wanted to argue at first but he didn’t. He let Tony push him in the direction of his bedroom to go change. 

Tony watched Peter leave. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He had to admit that seeing the kid after not talking or seeing him for over two weeks felt good. He really did miss Peter but he wasn’t looking forward to this conversation with him. 

Tony was sitting down on the couch when Peter walked in dressed in grey track pants and a white t-shirt. He saw Tony and sat down next to him on the couch. 

“Tell me what happened.” Peter demanded. 

“Okay… I’m gonna tell you.” Tony thought about where to start it off. “Okay so after I dropped you off at your apartment that day, I came back to the tower and immediately took my helicopter out to deal with a few things.” 

“What things?” Peter interrupted. 

“Important things that don’t concern you.” Tony waited for Peter to keep pushing and when he didn’t, he continued. “Anyways, so Cap and his buddy, Bucky Barnes, they ran off somewhere and after I found out where they ran off to, I decided to follow them-” 

“Why?” Peter interrupted again and Tony had to run a tired hand down his face. 

“Kid. Let me talk. This isn’t a Q and A.” Tony sighed. “Anyways, a video was shown to us and I recognized the road because it was the same road that my parents died on. As I watched the video I found out that Barnes, Steve’s best bud, had murdered my parents and Steve knew and had neglected to tell me about it.” 

Peter’s eyes had widened and Tony saw his eyes tearing up so he was really regretting telling the kid this. Maybe he should have left more out. 

“But-but why didn’t he tell you? Aren’t you guys friends? And-and why did he kill your parents, they didn’t die in a car accident?” Peter's bottom lip was wobbling and Tony knew about the kids parents and how they died in a plane crash so this topic was probably really sensitive for him. 

He shook his head. “No. He didn’t tell me, he wanted to protect Barnes. I don’t know.” 

Peter was looking at Tony like he wanted to ask a million more questions but he just asked one. “Captain America and his friend did that to you?” 

Tony looked away from Peter and nodded. 

“I hate him.” Peter said quietly. Tony looked over at Peter who looked angry. Tony had never seen Peter look like that before and he’s never heard Peter say he hates anyone. 

“Kid, I didn’t tell you this for you to hate the guy. I just wanted you to know the truth.” Tony explained. 

Peter shook his head. “I don’t care. He hurt you so I hate him.” 

“Pete, stop. You’ve looked up to him since you were a small kid-” 

Peter cut him off. “So, I looked up to you way longer. You’re way better than Captain America, Mr. Stark. You’re Iron Man! You built your first suit in a cave and everything comes from your genius brain, Mr. Stark.” 

Tony chuckled at that. He couldn’t help but hold an arm out for Peter to lean into him and when Peter did, he winced. “Ah, just watch my ribs.” 

Peter went tense. “I’m sorry. I can sit up-”

Tony stopped him. “No. This is nice. Stay here.” 

Peter ever so slowly and gently leaned closer to Tony and rested his head on his shoulder. “If he ever comes back, I’ll protect you, Mr. Stark.” 

Tony felt his heart melt at the kid. “I know you would, buddy. What would I do without my Spider-Man?” 

Peter hugged Tony back just a little bit tighter. “What would I do without my Iron Man?” 

Both of them laughed and then settled in to watch one of their movies. Yeah, maybe things would go back to normal after all. 

Two months later

“Hey, kid.” Tony said from Peter’s bedroom window in his Queens apartment. “Let’s go fly around Queens together, what do you say?” 

Peter was sitting at his desk and doing his homework. It was Friday night and Tony had told him that he had to cancel their lab time because he had important work to do. 

“Tony! What’re you doing here?” Peter excitedly stood up from his desk chair and walked over to his window, seeing Tony floating there in his suit. “I thought you had important stuff to do.” 

Tony lifted his face mask up. “Yeah. I’m doing that. I wanted to surprise you. Now are you coming with me or not? Because otherwise I wasted a trip for nothing-” 

“I’m coming!” Peter ran away from his window to quickly tug his shirt and pants off and then he put on his suit, feeling it form to fit around his body. He walked over to his window and grinned at Tony before putting his mask on and climbed out. 

“Let’s go!” Peter said and took off swinging with Tony following behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked that ending! I was gonna end it at a different point in the chapter and I was like wait no this ending isn’t satisfying AT ALL so I had to change it and I really really like this ending now:) 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading this fic and for all of your lovely comments! I’m going to miss posting this fic but it must come to an end now. So thank you all for reading:)


End file.
